go to pieces

Idioms  

1. Experience an emotional or mental breakdown, as in When she heard of his death she went to pieces. [Late 1800s] For a synonym, see fall apart, def. 2.

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Example Sentences

The freedom to act freely means the freedom to screw up royally, a theme that Rosebrock touches on in the play’s second half, when things, somewhat predictably, go to pieces.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 14, 2019

But when temperatures reach into triple digits, people go to pieces.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2017

Faces in a crowd terrify me - they jump out, familiar for an instant, and I go to pieces.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2016

We never really worried that things would go to pieces the way they ultimately did.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2011

“I do miss them. They were good people. Not huggers or the types to go to pieces over loving someone. But good people.”

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt