flip one's lid
Related to flip one's lid: flip his wig
flip (one's) lid
1. To react to something with strong emotion. The reaction can be to something positive or negative. I had to talk to Mr. Myers about the botched report today, and boy, did he flip his lid. I knew Aunt June would be excited to hear I'm getting married, but she totally flipped her lid!
2. To go insane. Used humorously. Everyone thought I'd flipped my lid when I quit my lucrative marketing job and moved to India.
See also: flip, lid
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
flip one's lid
Also, flip one's wig; flip out. React very strongly or wildly, as with anger, surprise, or excitement; also, go crazy. For example, I'm going to flip my lid if he doesn't show up, or She really flipped out when she realized that she had won first prize, or I think Rob has flipped his wig. These slangy expressions, with their allusion to losing the top of one's head, date from the 1930s and 1940s.
See also: flip, lid
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
flip one's lid, to
To lose one’s temper, or to become very excited. An American slang expression dating from the twentieth century, it implies the metaphor of a pot boiling over and pushing off its cover. It appeared in 1951 in the New York Times Book Review: “The funniest book of the lot is enough to make a reader ‘flip’ or ‘flip his lid.’” The closely related flip one’s wig needs no explanation.
See also: flip
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- all for the best
- a/the feel of (something)
- (I) wouldn't (do something) if I were you
- a straw will show which way the wind blows
- a ghost at the feast
- a crack at (someone or something)
- all right
- (you) wanna make something of it?
- a thing of the past
- a slew of (something)