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.
Just when I thought “Guys and Dolls” couldn’t raise the roof any higher.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2023
So, while he wants his players to raise the roof, Ballmer also has looked for ways to lower it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
Finally, if you want to raise the roof on creative install locations, a floor-mount free-standing tub filler can be a trendy and versatile tower of power!
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2022
A host of famous Birmingham faces from Julie Walters to the Peaky Blinders invite you to "raise the roof" for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2022
If it ain’t, you let me know, and I’ll spit it out so as it’ll raise the roof of this ’ere ken.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XV by Robert Louis Stevenson
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.
