40 Idioms for Anger Like a Native Speaker

Idioms are the vibrant spices of language, adding flavor and depth to our everyday conversations. They are phrases that hold a meaning far beyond their literal words, acting as a kind of cultural shorthand that allows us to express complex ideas with precision and flair. When it comes to powerful emotions like anger, idioms are especially useful. Instead of just saying “I’m very angry,” you can use a phrase like “I’m seeing red” or “I’m about to blow a fuse.”

These expressions paint a vivid mental picture, conveying the intensity and nature of the anger in a way that simple adjectives cannot. Exploring these idioms not only expands our vocabulary but also deepens our understanding of how we can articulate our feelings with greater clarity and impact.

Intense anger can sometimes lead to irrational or “crazy” actions. To describe this emotional transition, our idioms for crazy provide vivid, expressive phrases.

Table of Contents

Idioms for Anger

Here is a list of 40 popular idioms used to express anger, along with their meanings, examples, and alternative phrases.

1. See red

Meaning: To become extremely angry very suddenly.
Use in a sentence: When he insulted her family, she started to see red.
Other ways to say it: To become enraged, lose one’s temper, fly into a rage.

2. Blow a fuse / Blow a gasket

Meaning: To lose your temper, often in a sudden and explosive way.
Use in a sentence: My dad will blow a fuse when he sees the scratch on his car.
Other ways to say it: To explode with anger, lose control, go ballistic.

3. Fit to be tied

Meaning: To be extremely angry or agitated.
Use in a sentence: She was fit to be tied when she found out her flight was canceled again.
Other ways to say it: Furious, incensed, livid.

4. Bite someone’s head off

Meaning: To speak to someone in a very angry and sharp way, often without a good reason.
Use in a sentence: I only asked a simple question, and he bit my head off.
Other ways to say it: To snap at someone, to speak angrily, to yell at someone.

5. On the warpath

Meaning: To be very angry and ready for a confrontation or argument.
Use in a sentence: The boss is on the warpath this morning, so try to stay out of his way.
Other ways to say it: Looking for a fight, in a confrontational mood, angry and aggressive.

6. Have a bone to pick with someone

Meaning: To have a grievance or complaint that you want to discuss with someone.
Use in a sentence: I have a bone to pick with you; you never returned the book you borrowed.
Other ways to say it: To have a complaint, to want to argue about something, to have an issue to settle.

7. Foaming at the mouth

Meaning: To be uncontrollably furious, like a rabid animal.
Use in a sentence: He was foaming at the mouth when he realized his team had lost the championship.
Other ways to say it: Enraged, seething with anger, beside oneself with rage.

8. Make one’s blood boil

Meaning: To cause someone to become extremely angry.
Use in a sentence: The injustice of the situation made my blood boil.
Other ways to say it: To infuriate someone, to enrage, to make someone furious.

9. Hit the roof / Hit the ceiling

Meaning: To suddenly become very angry.
Use in a sentence: My parents are going to hit the roof when they see my report card.
Other ways to say it: To explode in anger, to lose one’s temper, to fly off the handle.

10. Fly off the handle

Meaning: To lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly.
Use in a sentence: He tends to fly off the handle over the smallest things.
Other ways to say it: To lose control, to snap, to become suddenly enraged.

11. Get one’s back up

Meaning: To become annoyed or angry and defensive.
Use in a sentence: Don’t criticize her work; it always gets her back up.
Other ways to say it: To become defensive, to get annoyed, to take offense.

12. A face like thunder

Meaning: To look extremely angry or menacing.
Use in a sentence: When he walked into the room with a face like thunder, we all fell silent.
Other ways to say it: A very angry expression, a furious look, a dark look.

13. Drive someone up the wall

Meaning: To annoy or irritate someone greatly.
Use in a sentence: His constant humming is driving me up the wall.
Other ways to say it: To drive someone crazy, to annoy intensely, to exasperate.

14. Be at the end of your rope/tether

Meaning: To have run out of patience or endurance for a difficult situation.
Use in a sentence: After a week of sleepless nights with the baby, I’m at the end of my rope.
Other ways to say it: To have no more patience, to be at one’s limit, to be fed up.

15. Ruffle someone’s feathers

Meaning: To annoy, irritate, or upset someone.
Use in a sentence: His controversial comments are sure to ruffle a few feathers.
Other ways to say it: To annoy someone, to cause offense, to upset someone.

16. Be spitting mad

Meaning: To be extremely angry.
Use in a sentence: He was spitting mad after they damaged his property and didn’t apologize.
Other ways to say it: Livid, furious, seething.

17. Go ballistic

Meaning: To become irrationally angry or excited.
Use in a sentence: She went ballistic when she saw the mess the kids had made.
Other ways to say it: To freak out, to explode, to hit the roof.

18. Be in a black mood

Meaning: To be irritable, angry, or depressed.
Use in a sentence: Leave him alone for a while; he’s been in a black mood all day.
Other ways to say it: In a bad mood, grumpy, sullen.

19. Have a short fuse

Meaning: To get angry very easily and quickly.
Use in a sentence: Be careful what you say to him; he has a very short fuse.
Other ways to say it: Quick-tempered, easily angered, irritable.

20. Be hopping mad

Meaning: To be very angry.
Use in a sentence: I was hopping mad when I discovered he had lied to me.
Other ways to say it: Extremely angry, furious, incensed.

21. Get under someone’s skin

Meaning: To deeply annoy or irritate someone.
Use in a sentence: His arrogant attitude really gets under my skin.
Other ways to say it: To irritate, to annoy persistently, to bother someone.

22. Be out for blood

Meaning: To be determined to get revenge on someone or to harm them.
Use in a sentence: After the betrayal, his former partner was out for blood.
Other ways to say it: Seeking revenge, determined to punish someone, vindictive.

23. Be up in arms

Meaning: To be very angry and protesting loudly about something.
Use in a sentence: The community was up in arms over the plan to build a highway through their neighborhood.
Other ways to say it: Protesting angrily, very upset, outraged.

24. Breathe fire

Meaning: To be furiously angry.
Use in a sentence: The coach was breathing fire after the team’s terrible performance.
Other ways to say it: To be enraged, to speak furiously, to be full of rage.

25. Go off the deep end

Meaning: To suddenly become very angry or irrational.
Use in a sentence: He completely went off the deep end when they questioned his authority.
Other ways to say it: To lose control, to become irrational, to freak out.

26. Have a chip on one’s shoulder

Meaning: To seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly.
Use in a sentence: Ever since he was passed over for the promotion, he’s had a chip on his shoulder.
Other ways to say it: To hold a grudge, to be resentful, to feel bitter.

27. Not be on speaking terms

Meaning: To refuse to speak to someone because you are angry with them.
Use in a sentence: My sisters had an argument and are not on speaking terms.
Other ways to say it: To be in a fight, to be giving someone the silent treatment.

28. A storm is brewing

Meaning: There are signs that trouble or anger is coming.
Use in a sentence: From the way they’re glaring at each other, I can tell a storm is brewing.
Other ways to say it: Trouble is coming, an argument is imminent.

29. Be at loggerheads

Meaning: To be in strong disagreement or conflict.
Use in a sentence: The two political parties are at loggerheads over the new budget.
Other ways to say it: To be in conflict, to disagree strongly, to be at an impasse.

30. Add insult to injury

Meaning: To make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing or saying something that offends them.
Use in a sentence: First, they lost my luggage, and then, to add insult to injury, they charged me a fee for it.
Other ways to say it: To make things worse, to compound a problem.

31. Get bent out of shape

Meaning: To become very angry, worried, or upset about something, often something unimportant.
Use in a sentence: Don’t get bent out of shape over a little spilled milk.
Other ways to say it: To get upset, to overreact, to become agitated.

32. Be cheesed off

Meaning: (Informal, British) To be annoyed and disappointed.
Use in a sentence: I was really cheesed off when my train was delayed.
Other ways to say it: Annoyed, fed up, irritated.

33. Be browned off

Meaning: (Informal, British) To be annoyed or fed up.
Use in a sentence: He was browned off with the constant interruptions.
Other ways to say it: Irritated, annoyed, displeased.

34. Be in a strop

Meaning: (Informal, British) To be in a bad mood or temper.
Use in a sentence: She’s been in a strop all day because her computer isn’t working.
Other ways to say it: Sulking, in a huff, in a bad mood.

35. Throw a wobbly

Meaning: (Informal, British) To have a tantrum or become extremely angry.
Use in a sentence: The toddler threw a wobbly in the middle of the supermarket.
Other ways to say it: To have a fit, to throw a tantrum, to lose one’s temper.

36. Give someone a piece of your mind

Meaning: To tell someone exactly what you think, especially when you are angry with them.
Use in a sentence: I’m going to give that mechanic a piece of my mind for overcharging me.
Other ways to say it: To tell someone off, to scold, to reprimand.

37. Be like a bear with a sore head

Meaning: To be extremely irritable and bad-tempered.
Use in a sentence: He’s like a bear with a sore head this morning; I wouldn’t talk to him if I were you.
Other ways to say it: Very grumpy, ill-tempered, irritable.

38. Be gunning for someone

Meaning: To be trying to cause trouble for someone or criticize them.
Use in a sentence: It’s clear the new manager is gunning for him and wants him fired.
Other ways to say it: To be out to get someone, to target someone.

39. Get hot under the collar

Meaning: To become angry, embarrassed, or flustered.
Use in a sentence: He got hot under the collar when they started questioning his alibi.
Other ways to say it: To get flustered, to become angry, to get worked up.

40. Raise Cain

Meaning: To cause a disturbance or complain in a loud, angry way.
Use in a sentence: Customers started raising Cain when they were told the concert was canceled.
Other ways to say it: To make a fuss, to cause a commotion, to protest loudly.

Fill-in-the-Blank Exercise

Complete the following sentences with the correct anger idiom from the list above.

When the referee made the bad call, the coach started to ______________________.
I’m at ______________________ with all these delays and excuses.
His constant tapping on the desk is starting to ______________________.
Be careful what you say; the boss is ______________________ today.
I’m going to march in there and ______________________ about this terrible service.
He was ______________________ when he heard that someone had stolen his idea.
I have a __________________ with you about that comment you made yesterday.
The sheer unfairness of it all just makes my ______________________.
Don’t criticize him right now; he’s like a ______________________.
She will ______________________ when she finds out we went without her.
I just asked for an update, there’s no need to ______________________!
The residents were ______________________ about the proposed tax increase.
He’s had a ____ on his ______________________ ever since he was left off the team.
Don’t ______________________ over such a minor issue; it’s not a big deal.
He walked in with a ______________________, so we knew something was wrong.

Answer Key

see red
the end of my rope
drive me up the wall
on the warpath
give them a piece of my mind
fit to be tied
bone to pick
blood boil
bear with a sore head
hit the roof
bite my head off
up in arms
chip, shoulder
get bent out of shape
face like thunder

Conclusion

Mastering idioms is like learning a new layer of communication. It allows us to move beyond simple descriptions and into a world of rich, metaphorical expression. By practicing these phrases for anger, you not only make your writing and speaking more dynamic and engaging, but you also enhance your emotional intelligence.

Understanding the nuance between being “in a strop” and being “out for blood” gives you a more sophisticated toolkit for identifying and conveying feelings—both your own and those of others. Continue to explore and use idioms; they are powerful instruments that bring life, color, and deeper understanding to our shared human experience.