go ballistic

Idioms  

1. Become extremely upset or angry, as in Dad will go ballistic when he sees you dented the new car. This expression, a variation on go berserk, originally alluded to a guided missile going out of control. [Slang; mid-1980s]

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Example Sentences

Will news outlets learn from painful lessons over the last decade, as platforms exploited outlets’ fear of missing out, made billions off their content and went ballistic when asked to pay?

From Seattle Times

“The public went ballistic,” says Kelly Burks-Copes, an ecologist who led the crafting of the plan.

From Science Magazine

Dictators such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would conclude that you can go ballistic and survive.

From Seattle Times

“Anytime a legislator hears they might close a facility in their district they go ballistic,” Selnick said, “but if you had had a commission in place that wouldn’t have mattered.”

From Washington Post

None of the leaders followed through on their suggestions after other Republican members, like Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, warned that their voter base would "go ballistic" if they criticized Trump instead of Democrats.

From Salon

Related Words

• freak out
• go off
• lose it