blow off steam

blow off (some) steam

To release strong emotions or energy by engaging in some kind of enjoyable, vigorous, or relaxing activity. I went on a run to blow off steam after our fight. When work gets frustrating, I like to go bowling to blow off some steam.
See also: blow, off, steam
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

blow off steam

Also, let off steam. Air or relieve one's pent-up feelings by loud talk or vigorous activity. For example, Joan's shouting did not mean she was angry at you; she was just blowing off steam, or After spending the day on very exacting work, Tom blew off steam by going for a long run . This metaphoric term refers to easing the pressure in a steam engine. [Early 1800s]
See also: blow, off, steam
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

blow off steam

verb
See blow off some steam
See also: blow, off, steam
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

blow off steam

To give vent to pent-up emotion.
See also: blow, off, steam
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

blow off steam, to

To let out one’s frustration or anger, usually by shouting. The term comes from the early days of railroading, when locomotives had no safety valves. When the steam pressure built up, the engineer would pull a lever that would blow off steam and prevent an explosion. It was transferred to human wrath in the early nineteenth century. “The widow . . . sat . . . fuming and blowing off her steam,” wrote Frederick Marryat (The Dog-Fiend, 1837). See also let off steam.
See also: blow, off
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a good trip
  • good trip
  • hyggelig
  • a (real) gas
  • FOMO
  • fear of missing out
  • a night out
  • be out on the town
  • (all) beer and skittles
  • be not what it's cracked up to be
References in periodicals archive
Also, reporters aren't as willing to make journalism a career for their whole lives, so they have less reason to blow off steam and to turn to booze."
Older and wiser today, I still attend film festivals but find milder ways to blow off steam. In Toronto last year I sighed indulgently when awakened in the middle of the night by groans and moans next door.
As contemporary authoritarian regimes learn how to manage and engineer information flows, we must understand that promoting and protecting free speech in places like China and Russia is not a simple matter of "tearing down the wall." Given these governments' complex strategies for regulating what their citizens do online -- ranging from establishing effective control of private media and telecoms businesses to allowing people to blow off steam without going too far -- we should be more realistic about the true extent of the Internet's transformational potential.
It was a good way to blow off steam after the Skyhawks took it to Worcester over the first four innings, as Sussex touched up Tornadoes starter Shaun McNamara for 9 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits over 4 innings.
IT'S good to blow off steam if you're angry but staying calm often has more impact as it encourages the other person to listen to what you have to say.
We used to go out to blow off steam, but if damage was caused, the garrison would be punished.
The guy who invented this game had a weird sense of humour and must have worked in a very boring job so he thought up an 80-minute free-for-all so that participants could blow off steam, and just to make it more interesting he threw in a ball that was hard to control.
Sumire is prickly, but likable; she feels trapped in a situation where she needs to marry a man who's smarter, richer and taller than her, and having Momo as a pet allows her to blow off steam. Momo is much smarter than he looks (and acts); despite behaving like your average cocker spaniel, he is the dominant partner.
They blow off steam and achieve tasks in different ways, and the camera isn't afraid of a little ambiguity, especially in the case of patriarch Tom Evangelista, whose methods will be applauded by some and denounced by others.
Your goal is to blow off steam. You smartly see low-impact sports as a way to get in shape and get a feel-good vibe.
Corrigan's survey is about the bars and taverns "where newspaper reporters are known to gather after work to review stories, to hatch investigations, to discuss office politics and to just generally blow off steam," he writes.
She offers a number of commonsense prescriptions: prioritize, pick your battles, use peers outside the building as sounding boards, take short walks to blow off steam, have a life outside school.
Because the editor of this magazine unaccountably took his time in acknowledging my merit as an applicant, to blow off steam I played basketball on the local court several hours each day.
About a dozen police officers were dispatched to find Tarek, who fled into the woods reportedly to "blow off steam." The two only announced their breakup last December and in January, Tarek filed for divorce.
Type a draft of your initial thoughts to blow off steam then revisit it after a break and professionally convey how you feel.