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

See Examples For:

mad as a hornet

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

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

But up come Miss Lieutenant, who had been watching our drill—the one which had signed me up—and she was as mad as a hornet, only having a awful time trying not to laugh.

From Believe You Me! by Nina Wilcox Putnam

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Related Words

• enraged
• furious
• seething
• stormy
• turbulent

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