hit the ceiling

Related to hit the ceiling: shoot the bull

hit the ceiling

To react with extreme anger. Mom will hit the ceiling when she finds out we broke the vase by playing ball in the house again.
See also: ceiling, hit
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hit the ceiling

 and hit the roof
Fig. to get very angry. She really hit the ceiling when she found out what happened. My dad'll hit the roof when he finds out that I wrecked his car.
See also: ceiling, hit
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

hit the ceiling

Also, hit the roof. Explode in anger, as in Jane hit the ceiling when she saw her grades, or Dad hit the roof when he didn't get his usual bonus. The first expression dates from the early 1900s; the second is a version of a 16th-century locution, up in the house roof or house-top, meaning "enraged."
See also: ceiling, hit
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

hit the ceiling

COMMON If someone hits the ceiling, they suddenly become very angry and shout at someone. When I told him what happened, he hit the ceiling. Compare with hit the roof.
See also: ceiling, hit
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

hit the ceiling

fly into a sudden rage.
2004 Scarlett Elizabeth Cooper Nuts & Bolts When Dr John Pulaski arrived home that night, he hit the ceiling. ‘Why are you bringing other people into our home?’ he demanded of his wife.
See also: ceiling, hit
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hit the ˈroof/ˈceiling

(informal) suddenly become very angry: Every time I mention Patricia, Sam hits the roof.
See also: ceiling, hit, roof
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hit the ceiling

and hit the roof
tv. to get very angry. She really hit the ceiling when she found out what happened.
See also: ceiling, hit
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

hit the ceiling, to

To lose one’s temper. The image of rising with fury seems quite natural. This expression comes from early twentieth-century America and soon crossed the Atlantic. P. G. Wodehouse used it in Very Good, Jeeves! (1930): “I haven’t breathed a word to Angela. She’d hit the ceiling.” It echoes a locution dating from the sixteenth century, to be up in the house roof (or at the house-top), meaning to be enraged. See also raise the roof.
See also: hit
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • hit the ceiling, to
  • hit the roof/ceiling
  • hit it with (one)
  • hit it with someone
  • hit with (something)
  • hit it off
  • hit it off with
  • hit it off, to
  • hit off
  • hit out for (some place)
References in periodicals archive
The US hit the ceiling on May 16, but has since used spending and accounting adjustments, as well as higher-than-expected tax receipts, to continue operating without impact on government obligations.
''The bond market appears to have hit the ceiling, and (bond prices) could turn downward in the near future depending on (trading) cues,'' a broker said.
Analysts expect the sector to be saturated by 2013, as the level of penetration will hit the ceiling at 100 percent.
Just when you think our MSPs have hit the ceiling of stupidity, they crash right through it.
a geyser hit the ceiling. In the Vice- Principal's office the boy
The cup had hit the ceiling when he had thrown it up.
One patient had become disconnected from the blood lines (they had an external shunt), and the arterial spray did hit the ceiling!
When tomato and pepper seeds have sprouted in their indoor greenhouse containers, is it OK to let them continue growing in there after they've hit the ceiling? Or should I remove the clear plastic lid and let them continue to grow in their little containers?
It proves that you can set the bar so high, you hit the ceiling and run the risk of crashing back to the floor.
Attendance capacity has hit the ceiling because of a lack of space, however, Rouleau is confident the school is meeting industry's demand, though this may change if interest continues to increase.
After 10 consecutive months of expansion, economic activity in the manufacturing sector hit the ceiling in December, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business (www.ism.ws ).
The center piece between the two round lids on top of the stove hit the ceiling hard enough to leave a half-inch deep impression in the ceiling tile.
''The airplane dived so steeply that the cart hit the ceiling of the cabin,'' Esashi said.
The first time she did it I nearly hit the ceiling with shock, now I just brush her hand away.
Both stores also have to know they are starting to hit the ceiling of how far they can push their suppliers.