go ballistic

Definition

To become very angry and irrational.

Etymology

The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.

Example Sentences

• "She'd go ballistic, possibly even fling a fireball or two, if she knew Selene had him in her apartment."
• "Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Hey, sorry for going ballistic back there. I think the whole Julie-being-alive thing affected me more than I thought."
• "The guy went ballistic when I tried to tell him he couldn't return the socks if the package had been opened."