Meaning & use
flip your lid
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformal
to suddenly become extremely angry and lose control of your feelings.
Grammar: Used as a whole phrase; the possessive pronoun changes to match the person: I flipped my lid, he flipped his lid.
Patterns
- flip your lid at someone
- flip your lid over something
- flip your lid when something happens
Dad flipped his lid when he saw the scratch on the car.
She flipped her lid at the waiter over a cold bowl of soup.
Don't flip your lid — I only borrowed your jacket for one evening.
phraseidiominformal
to react with wild excitement or strong emotion, especially in a way others find funny or strange.
Grammar: Same phrase, but here the feeling is excitement rather than anger; the situation makes clear which one you mean.
Patterns
- flip your lid over something
- flip your lid when someone does something
The kids flipped their lids when the puppy walked into the room.
He flipped his lid when his favorite band announced a surprise concert.
Common combinations
- flip your lid at someone
- My boss flipped his lid at me for being ten minutes late.
- flip your lid over something
- The neighbors flipped their lids over the noise last night.
- flip your lid when ...
- She flips her lid whenever someone touches her desk.
- completely flip your lid
- He completely flipped his lid and started shouting at everyone.
- make someone flip their lid
- That endless drilling is enough to make anyone flip their lid.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lose your temper
- Neutral and suitable for any situation; 'flip your lid' is more informal and sounds more dramatic.
- blow up
- Also informal, but it stresses a sudden explosion of anger rather than the whole loss of control.
- go ballistic
- Stronger and more slangy; it suggests a really frightening level of anger.
- hit the roof
- Very close in meaning and register, though it often suggests anger caused by someone's bad behavior.
Opposites
Word family
- flip out phrasal verb
- Informal; to lose control emotionally, either from anger or excitement.
- flip verb
- The base verb meaning to turn something over quickly.
Commonly confused: flip your lid or flip a coin? flip your lid or flip through?
flip your lid vs flip a coin
This means to toss a coin to decide something, not to get angry.
flip your lid vs flip through
This means to look quickly through pages or a magazine, with no idea of anger.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'flip your lid' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Flip your lid' means to become very angry or wildly excited, so it fits the surprising price. The other options use 'flip' in its literal senses (turning pages, tossing a coin, turning food in a pan), which cannot take this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flip your lid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.