have a fit

Idioms  

1. Also,;; have kittens. Become extremely upset. For example, She'll have a fit when she sees Anne wearing the same dress, or Mom had a conniption fit when she heard about the broken mirror, or Don't take a fit—the car's not really damaged, or Jill was having kittens over the spoiled cake. One can also, as in His dithering about punctuation is enough to give me fits. Fit and fits, along with conniption fit, have been used in hyperbolic expressions to denote a bout of hysterics since the 1830s; throw a fit was first recorded in 1906, and have a fit in 1924; have kittens, alluding to being so upset as to bear kittens, also dates from about 1900.

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Example Sentences

So I continued with my own research, calling someone I was sure would have a fit about the idea: Los Angeles County Hispanic Republican Club President David Hernandez.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

“I witnessed grown men have a fit like a 6-year-old because a staff member wouldn’t let them use their cellphone.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 25, 2022

"I think that the Welsh FAW, certainly for the top three tiers, need to have a fit and proper person's test for ownership of any club," said 62-year-old Bangor 1876 fan Dylan Fernley, Frida's dad.

From BBC • May 23, 2022

“Who’d have a fit? Nobody but Alfred, and I didn’t know you’d gotten afraid of him yet! I say, just let’s! We’ll have a race, and then come right back.”

From Slate • Nov. 25, 2018

“Please, Miss Skeeter. Miss Leefolt have a fit if she find you giving me cash,” Aibileen whispers.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Related Words

• blow up
• boil over
• erupt
• rampage
• roar
• seethe
• tear