blow one's top


Also, blow one's stack. Fly into a rage; lose one's composure. For example, If she calls about this one more time I'm going to blow my top, or Warren is generally very easy-going, but today he blew his stack. The top here has been likened to the top of an erupting volcano; the stack alludes to a smokestack. [Slang; first half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.