Anger, exasperation, fury, rage, frustration, irritation, annoyance… These are complex emotions, but choosing the right anger idioms can help you express things more clearly.
This list of idioms about anger and annoyance covers a range of ways that people express their feelings. We have included the definition and an example sentence for each one, so you can become more confident using them in English.
Anger idioms about losing your temper
The following English idioms about anger all have the same meaning. They are all another way of saying ‘lose your temper‘, which means to suddenly become angry, enraged or upset. It may also be described as ‘losing your patience’, and the result is usually an outburst of anger or rage.
- Blow a fuse
- Fly off the handle
- Go off the deep end
- Hit the ceiling /roof
- Go through the roof
- Lose it
- Lose your rag
- Lose your cool
- Flip your lid
- Boil over
Here are some examples of how to use these anger idioms:
“If someone doesn’t help Kerry soon, I think she’s going to blow a fuse.”
“My boss flies off the handle at the smallest thing.”
“I hope he won’t go off the deep end when he hears that I crashed his car.”
“Your father is going to hit the roof when he finds out where you’ve been!”
“If you do that one more time I’m going to lose it!”
More idioms about anger
Now that we’ve looked at all the idioms that mean ‘lose your temper’, let’s move on to some other anger idioms with different meanings.
Have a short fuse
We already covered blow a fuse, but we may also say that a person has a short fuse, meaning that they are liable to lose their temper easily.
“Be careful how you talk to the Warehouse Manager; he has a pretty short fuse.”
Have a quick temper
Similarly, someone who has a quick temper tends to lose their temper with little provocation.
“A quick temper should be a warning sign when you’re dating someone.”
We may describe such a person as quick-tempered.
We could equally say that they have a short temper or are short-tempered.
Let off steam
When you let off steam you do or say something that lets you release pent-up anger, frustration or pressure.
“Let’s go out for dinner tonight so you can let off steam after a tough week at work.”
This idiom could also refer to releasing energy by doing some physical activity.
Hot under the collar
We describe someone as hot under the collar when they are angry, particularly in the heat of their anger.
“Even the slightest criticism gets Annabelle hot under the collar.”
Check out some more ‘hot’ idioms here.
See red
To see red is to become very angry, usually suddenly.
“I saw red when I discovered they had excluded me from their plans.”
Red is commonly associated with anger but it is not the only color emotion association in English. In fact, red can also signify love!
Bristle with anger/rage
When someone bristles with anger or rage, you can see a physical reaction in their body.
“He was bristling with anger as he surveyed the scene.”
Make your blood boil
If you make someone’s blood boil, you cause them to become very angry.
“It makes my blood boil when people are disrespectful to each other.”
There is another English idiom, make your blood run cold, which sounds like it should have the opposite meaning. But it doesn’t. You can check the correct meaning in our list of cold idioms.
Up in arms
To be up in arms about something means to be very angry or upset about it.
“All the parents at the school are up in arms about the fee increases.”
This anger idiom used to refer to an armed rebellion, but now it is used in a more general, less violent sense. However, it still carries a hint of protest.
Give someone a piece of your mind
When you give someone a piece of your mind, you tell them exactly what you think or how you feel, usually in an angry or frustrated way.
“If they don’t bring our food out soon, I’m going to go and give the manager a piece of my mind.”
Find this and more idioms about talking in our separate guide.
Like a red rag to a bull
Something can be described as like a red rag (or flag) to a bull if it is certain to provoke an angry or upset response in them. The flag variant is more often used in American English whereas rag is chiefly British.
“We never discuss religion when my uncle is visiting. It’s like a red flag to a bull.”
This idiom about anger comes from bullfighting, where a matador waves a red cloth to provoke the bull to attack. However, when we use this phrase, it doesn’t necessarily suggest deliberate provocation.
Strike out
Another sports-related idiom, to strike out means to react angrily and often violently.
“I’m so sorry I struck out at you last night.”
The phrase lash out means exactly the same thing.
Idioms about annoyance and irritation
So we have dealt with anger idioms, but what if you want to express annoyance or irritation rather than full-blown fury? Here are some phrases that express milder feelings.
Cheesed off
If you’re cheesed off, you’re feeling annoyed, fed up or perhaps angry.
“You look cheesed off. What happened at work?”
This expression can also be used as a phrasal verb:
“You’re really cheesing me off today!”
For some more idioms featuring cheese and other types of food, click here.
Rub someone up the wrong way
When you rub someone up the wrong way, you annoy them without intending to.
“I think Lisa rubbed Alison up the wrong way with her comment about the food.”
Pain in the neck
A pain in the neck is a source of annoyance or irritation, whether it’s a person or something more abstract.
“All these safety checks are a pain in the neck, but they are necessary.”
A more colloquial version of this is a pain in the ass/arse (both slang terms for your buttocks or bottom, depending on whether you’re speaking American or British English.)
A storm in a teacup
Sometimes people get angry, annoyed or outraged about something which is really not very important. We can refer to this as a storm (or tempest) in a teacup. It’s quite easy to visualize this – it may seem bad if you are right in the middle of it, but with a little perspective you realize the problem is insignificant.
“Have a good sleep and in the morning you’ll realise it was just a storm in a teacup.”
We have some more tea idioms and storm idioms to help expand your vocabulary even further.
Wind someone up
The phrasal verb wind up has a lot of different meanings, but in the context of this article, it means to annoy or aggravate.
“Toby, stop winding your little sister up.”
“I get so wound up whenever I watch the news. The world is in such a mess and our leaders are doing so little about it.”
Send / drive someone up the wall
To send or drive someone up the wall is to irritate or annoy them to the point of exasperation.
“Preparing this presentation is driving me up the wall! I just can’t get it to display properly.”
Variants of this idiom include:
- Drive someone (a)round the bend
- Drive someone crazy
- Drive someone bonkers
- Drive someone mad
We have some more drive idioms for you to explore in a separate article.
Get on someone’s nerves
If something or someone is getting on your nerves, it is irritating or exasperating you.
“Could you turn down that music? It’s really getting on my nerves.”
Can you think of any other idioms relating to anger and annoyance? Please share them by leaving a comment below.
Perhaps as an antidote to all these negative emotions, now you would like to learn some idioms about friendship or take a look at some relaxing expressions.
