fly off the handle
To become very angry or enraged; to throw a fit or go crazy.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Please do not fly off the handle over such a small mistake.”
“My boss tends to fly off the handle whenever a project deadline is missed by even a few hours.”
“Despite his usual composure, the senator began to fly off the handle when the reporter questioned the integrity of his campaign finances.”
disputed origin
From the image of an axe head becoming loose and suddenly flying free of its handle, a vivid metaphor for losing control. The phrase is an early 19th-century American idiom, with printed examples first appearing c. the 1810s–1830s.
- 01
crank the handle
To perform a process; to do some work.
- 02
fly blind
To do by guesswork; to feel one's way.
- 03
fly by
To pass or go past quickly, often without much interaction
- 04
fly by the seat of one's pants
To pilot an aircraft without the aid of instruments and without a flight plan, using only instinct, visual observation, and practical judgment.
- 05
fly in the face of
To act in a manner highly contrary to; to counteract or contradict.
- 06
fly in the ointment
Something (especially a minor thing) which ruins or spoils everything else, or makes it less pleasant; a nuisance or problem; a disagreeable or unpleasant detail.
- 07
fly low
To have one's fly (zipper) undone.
- 08
fly off
To flee rapidly; to run away.
Last updated August 10, 2026