go postal


go postal

1. slang To shoot or otherwise attack one's coworkers (and/or random people) in a rage, typically after becoming disgruntled in one's workplace. The phrase originated after a series of unrelated incidents in the 1980s and '90s in which American postal workers shot coworkers or members of the public. You've got to watch out for the quiet types—they're the ones who end up going postal and shooting up the place.2. slang By extension, to become wildly or uncontrollably angry. He wasn't happy with me and went postal when he heard what I had to say.See also: go, postal

go postal

mainly AMERICAN, INFORMALIf someone goes postal, they become extremely angry and lose control of themselves. He went postal and punched a police officer in the face. Compare with go ballistic. Note: This expression comes from a series of shootings carried out by US postal workers. See also: go, postal

go postal

go mad, especially from stress. US informal This expression arose as a result of several recorded cases in the USA in which postal-service employees ran amok and shot colleagues. 1999 New Yorker A man two seats away ‘went postal’ when the battery on his cell phone gave out. A heavyset passenger had to sit on the man until the train finally pulled into Grand Central. See also: go, postal

go ˈpostal

(American English, informal) become extremely angry or start behaving in a violent and angry way: According to one eye witness, the man ‘went postal, and started hitting his computer’.This expression originated in the USA in the 1990s, where there were several incidents of postal workers losing control and shooting members of the public in post offices.See also: go, postal

go postal

in. to become wild; to go berserk. He made me so mad I thought I would go postal. See also: go, postal

go postal

Slang To become extremely angry or deranged, especially in an outburst of violence.See also: go, postal