Fly Off The Handle




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Fly Off The Handle : Phrases



Meaning:

Lose self control.


Example:







Origin:

This is an American phrase and it alludes to the uncontrolled way a loose axe-head flies off from its handle. It is first found in print in Thomas C. Haliburton's The Attaché; or, Sam Slick in England, 1843/4:

"He flies right off the handle for nothing."

Haliburton was an inventive writer and had a hand in the coining of several commonly used phrases:

  • Ginger up


  • Won't take no for an answer


  • Fly off the handle








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