/ˈbləʊ ə ˈfjuːz/
English idiom, informal. To suddenly lose your temper.
Draft Not yet checked by a native English speaker.
How do people use Blow a fuse
?
Informal, about a sudden outburst rather than a slow simmer: “Dad blew a fuse when he saw the bill”. It’s mostly in the past tense, and the person is the subject. In context it’s clear you don’t mean the electrics, though “we’ve blown a fuse” in a dark kitchen means exactly that.
Blow a fuse
in real sentences
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Tom blew a fuse.
Tatoeba, sentence by Hybrid, CC BY 2.0 FR
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She shouldn’t have blown a fuse.
Tatoeba, sentence by honestlang, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Blow a fuse
come from?
It’s borrowed from household electricity. English Wiktionary gives the literal sense first: overload a circuit until the fuse protecting it melts and the current stops. The angry person is pictured as a circuit pushed past its limit, an image shared with “blow a gasket”. None of the sources checked dates the figurative use.
Mistakes learners make with Blow a fuse
Confusing it with “have a short fuse”, which describes someone who’s quick to anger in general. “Blow a fuse” is one particular outburst.
Other English idioms like Blow a fuse
Spot a mistake in Blow a fuse
?
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