Choose the correct meaning of idiom: Fly off the handle

Correct — C. To fly off the handle is to lose your temper suddenly: 'he flew off the handle over a late reply'.

The idiom alludes to an axe head coming loose and flying off its handle mid-swing, sudden and out of control. The anger it describes is sudden as well as strong, which is exactly what option (c) says.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  To escape quietly — Escape quietly reads 'fly off' as slipping away. The idiom is about temper, and flying off the handle is loud and abrupt, not quiet.
• (b)
  To disappear quickly — Disappear quickly takes 'fly off' literally, as leaving at speed. Nobody leaves in this idiom; the person stays where they are and loses their temper.
• (d)
  To handle a situation smartly — Handle a situation smartly borrows the word handle and reverses the spirit. Flying off the handle means losing control, not managing well.

An idiom's meaning cannot be built from its words. 'Fly', 'off' and 'handle' each suggest movement or managing, and each wrong option here is built on one of those literal readings.

The fixed meaning is a sudden loss of temper. Close neighbours: hit the roof, blow one's top, lose one's cool.

So test each option against the whole phrase, not against one word in it.

Key facts

• Fly off the handle means to lose one's temper suddenly.
• It alludes to an axe head flying loose from its handle.
• Hit the roof and blow one's top also mean to become very angry.

Common traps

• Reading fly off as physical movement and choosing To disappear quickly
• Choosing To handle a situation smartly because it repeats the word handle

No directly related past PYQ was found.