on the warpath

on the warpath

Extremely angry and seeking retribution. I'd avoid the boss if I were you—he's been on the warpath since he found out we lost the Jefferson account.
See also: on, warpath
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

on the warpath

very angry. The boss is on the warpath again. Watch out! l am on the warpath about setting goals and standards again.
See also: on, warpath
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

on the warpath

Furious and on a hostile course of action, as in When the meat wasn't delivered, the chef went on the warpath. This expression was an English translation of a Native American term that literally means "a path used by a war party." Go on the war path thus meant "go to battle." It was used in this way by James Fenimore Cooper in The Deerslayer (1841); its present hyperbolic use dates from the late 1800s.
See also: on, warpath
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

on the warpath

If someone is on the warpath, they are very angry and getting ready for an argument or fight. Nolan was on the warpath after reading a bad review of his restaurant. The message is that consumers are on the warpath — and governments should beware. Note: Native Americans were said to be `on the warpath' when they were on an expedition to attack their enemies. The warpath was the path or route that they took.
See also: on, warpath
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

on the warpath

ready and eager for confrontation.
The phrase originated with reference to American Indians heading towards a battle with an enemy.
1999 Cricketer This summer, England are on the warpath against New Zealand in a four test series.
See also: on, warpath
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

on the warpath

mod. very angry. I am on the warpath about setting goals and standards again.
See also: on, warpath
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • comeuppance
  • the gate
  • on the warpath, to be/go
  • be on the warpath
  • be/go on the warpath
  • warpath
  • too many cooks spoil the broth
  • too many cooks spoil the soup
  • too many cooks spoil the stew
  • two wrongs do not make a right
References in classic literature
I am in elegant France now, and not scurrying through the great South Pass and the Wind River Mountains, among antelopes and buffaloes and painted Indians on the warpath. It is not meet that I should make too disparaging comparisons between humdrum travel on a railway and that royal summer flight across a continent in a stagecoach.
The Innocents Abroad
Probably, as Marija claimed, she made mistakes on purpose after that; at any rate, she made them, and the third time it happened Marija went on the warpath and took the matter first to the forelady, and when she got no satisfaction there, to the superintendent.
Jungle
Summary: Godolphin's On The Warpath tastes success in support race
Meanwhile, Godolphin's On The Warpath was a convincing winner of the Longholes Handicap earlier on the card.
O'Brien completes another Guineas double
Prescott on the Warpath On The Warpath looks a colt who could have quite a big future after overcoming a penalty with something to spare in the 7f novice event, and history suggests his future might lie in foreign climes.
Kirby and Gormley show good times are ahead with double
Scotland are heavily reliant on John Leslie and James McLaren in the backs, and Budge Pountney in the forwards, but fighting spirit alone will not be enough to stop an England team on the warpath on their home ground.
Events: England look to take the high road
Meanwhile, Hoekstra and his allies are on the warpath, and they're finding ammunition in the 25th anniversary catalog of Women Make Movies Inc., an independent producer and distributor of films and videotapes that received about $112,700 in NEA grants over three years.
The NEA gets gay-bashed; gay themes again become the focus of a pitched battle over federal funding of the arts