hit the fan
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The string hit the fan in the early 2000s, when police say particularly sticky Halloween celebrations left Hollywood property owners with about $200,000 in annual cleanup and recovery costs.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2024
I think that’s the slap in the face to everyone who feels we were misled and then all of a sudden it just hit the fan like 0 to 1,000.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 16, 2024
"The proverbial you-know-what had not yet hit the fan," Krantz said in a recent interview with Undark.
From Salon • Jul. 7, 2023
When things hit the fan England's players are suddenly fired up, but they are already 2-0 down.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2023
And then the falafel really hit the fan.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
