mad as a hornet

Idioms  

1. Also,. Very angry, enraged as in Mary was mad as a hornet when her purse was stolen, or Upset? Dan was mad as hell, or The teacher was mad as a wet hen. The use of mad for “angry” dates from about 1300, but these similes are of much more recent vintage (1800s, early 1900s). The allusions to a hornet, which can launch a fierce attack, and hell, with its furious fires, are more obvious than the other variants. Mad as hops was first recorded in 1884 and is thought to have been the writer's version of hopping mad; mad as a wet hen, first recorded in 1823, is puzzling, since hens don't really mind water.

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Example Sentences

Just tell Mrs. Newlywed that you weren’t feeling well, which is true-ish: You were as mad as a hornet — and may have put someone’s eye out with an angry toss of the rice.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2010

Pazuzu gets mad as a hornet � or rather as a locust, the guise in which he usually appears.

From Time Magazine Archive

Right in the midst of their lark who should appear but old Donkin himself, mad as a hornet.

From Time Magazine Archive

I was just mad as a hornet because I knew what was wrong with the car and they wouldn’t let me do anything about it.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Gibbon said, “He lost half his strength. Most of them got taken prisoner. He’s mad as a hornet, lookin’ for somebody to blame it on.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• enraged
• furious
• seething
• stormy
• turbulent