on the warpath

Cultural  

1. From a Native American expression for war, to be “on the warpath” is to be exceedingly angry and to be inclined to take some hostile action: “Watch out! John is on the warpath today.”

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on the warpath Idioms  

1. Furious and on a hostile course of action, as in When the meat wasn't delivered, the chef went on the warpath. This expression was an English translation of a Native American term that literally means “a path used by a war party.” Go on the war path thus meant “go to battle.” It was used in this way by James Fenimore Cooper in The Deerslayer (1841); its present hyperbolic use dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

“Here’s your headline: Kari Lake is on the warpath,” Ms. Lake said in an interview Thursday night.

From New York Times

"He'd go out of the house and be able to start a row over some perceived lack of service - he'd go on the warpath," Ms Doyle said.

From BBC

And action-packed it is, even if much of the story unspools inside a disabled Land Rover containing the main characters, with said lion on the warpath outside and not much in the human arsenal except a tranquilizer gun, a few bottles of water, handheld radios, a medical kit and their wits.

From Washington Post

“Braves on the warpath!” will be dropped in favor of “Fight for our Commanders!” or “Leaders on a mission!” — with fan voting at commanders.com/httc determining the winner.

From Washington Post

The main difference beyond swapping the retired name for Commanders is that “Braves on the Warpath!” has been changed to either “Fight of our Commanders!” or “Leaders on a mission!” — depending on the version.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• desperate
• enraged
• fierce
• frantic
• frenetic
• frenzied
• incensed
• livid
• raging
• vehement
• violent