go postal
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
go (in the sense "become") + postal; from a rash of incidents, mostly gun violence, perpetrated by disgruntled U.S. Postal Service workers on co-workers in the United States, beginning in the 1980s (see quotations)
Verb[edit]
go postal (third-person singular simple present goes postal, present participle going postal, simple past went postal, past participle gone postal)
- (intransitive, chiefly US, informal) To behave in a hysterical, angry or irrational manner.
- 1993 Vick, Karl “Violence at work tied to loss of esteem”, in the St. Petersburg Times, December 17, 1993.
- The symposium was sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen so many outbursts that in some circles excessive stress is known as “going postal.” Thirty-five people have been killed in 11 post office shootings since 1983.
- 1993 Vick, Karl “Violence at work tied to loss of esteem”, in the St. Petersburg Times, December 17, 1993.
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
behave in a hysterical, angry or irrational manner
