raise the roof
Idioms-
Be extremely noisy and boisterous, as in They'd had a lot to drink and were really raising the roof last night .
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Complain loudly and angrily, as in When the landlord increased the rent, the tenants raised the roof about his lack of repairs and maintenance . Both usages convey the image of the roof being lifted because it cannot contain either noise or rage. [ Slang ; mid-1800s] Also see hit the ceiling .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He raised the roof of the house he inherited; added wings, a porch and a cupola; and selected—along with his wife, Martha—the interior’s paint colors, wallpapers and furniture.
It may also have raised the roof in the away end.
From BBC
Guests were dressed in sparkly sequins, a 20-piece orchestra raised the roof and Dawn French - as the Vicar of Dibley - gave a sermon at the lectern.
From BBC
The tomb became an enclosed vault after an 18th Century earl raised the roof.
From BBC
I was in the middle of “raising the roof” when a pocket-sized man approached me and asked if I liked his friend.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
