Anger in English is usually a sudden movement — something hits, something goes up, something turns red. Patience is the opposite: you hold, you keep, you bite. These eight idioms cover both sides, and the moment between them.
1. The wrong size, again
Cara: They sent the wrong size again.
Nils: What did you say?
Cara: Nothing. I lost my temper last time and it didn't help.
Nils: So what now?
Cara: I'll write instead. Writing is slower.
Nils: Slower is good.
2. Telling Dad about the car
Eli: Did you tell him?
Jas: I told him this morning.
Eli: And?
Jas: He hit the roof. Twenty minutes of it.
Eli: Is he still angry?
Jas: He's fine now. He's always fine an hour later.
3. The scratch on the new bike
Ruben: Somebody scratched my bike.
Ola: In the car park?
Ruben: Right down the side. I saw red.
Ola: Did you find who did it?
Ruben: No. I walked around the block twice instead.
Ola: Good. Shouting at nobody helps nobody.
4. Very quiet in the meeting
Dana: You were quiet in there.
Marc: I bit my tongue. Twice.
Dana: About the budget?
Marc: About the budget, and about who wrote it.
Dana: Say it to me instead.
Marc: Buy me a coffee first.
5. A run after a long shift
Sanne: Are you coming for a run?
Theo: In this weather?
Sanne: I need to blow off steam. It was a long shift.
Theo: Fine. Half an hour.
Sanne: Half an hour is enough.
6. The pen on the desk
Vera: Could you stop that?
Nate: Stop what?
Vera: The pen. You've been tapping it for an hour.
Nate: Sorry. I didn't notice.
Vera: It gets on my nerves.
Nate: Consider it stopped.
7. The flight is cancelled
Iris: Everyone's shouting at the desk.
Owen: I know. Two hundred people and one woman behind a screen.
Iris: So what do we do?
Owen: Keep a cool head and get in the shorter line.
Iris: There's a shorter line?
Owen: There is if you look.
8. Looking for the keys
Karl: Where are my keys?
Suze: How would I know?
Karl: You moved them yesterday.
Suze: Don't take it out on me. You had a bad day, not me.
Karl: You're right. Sorry.
Suze: They're by the kettle, by the way.
Words to know
| lose your temper | to stop controlling your anger and show it Nothing. I lost my temper last time and it didn't help. |
| hit the roof | to become suddenly and loudly angry He hit the roof. Twenty minutes of it. |
| see red | to become so angry that you cannot think clearly Right down the side. I saw red. |
| bite your tongue | to stop yourself from saying what you are thinking I bit my tongue. Twice. |
| blow off steam | to get rid of anger or stress by doing something active I need to blow off steam. It was a long shift. |
| get on someone's nerves | to annoy someone, usually by repeating something small It gets on my nerves. |
| keep a cool head | to stay calm while other people are not Keep a cool head and get in the shorter line. |
| take it out on someone | to treat someone badly because you are upset about something else Don't take it out on me. You had a bad day, not me. |
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with an idiom from the conversations above. Change the form if you need to.
1. Cara said nothing this time because the last time she ________ it did not help.
(showed her anger)
2. When Jas told him about the car, Dad ________ for twenty minutes.
(became suddenly, loudly angry)
3. Ruben found a scratch all down the side of his new bike and ________.
(became too angry to think)
4. Marc wanted to say something about the budget in the meeting, but he ________.
(stopped himself from speaking)
5. Sanne went out for a run after a long shift because she needed to ________.
(get rid of stress by being active)
6. Nate had been tapping his pen for an hour, and Vera told him it ________.
(annoyed her)
Show the answers
1. lost her temper 2. hit the roof 3. saw red 4. bit his tongue 5. blow off steam 6. got on her nerves
Common mistakes
Not: He lost his temperature when he saw the bill.
Say: He lost his temper when he saw the bill.
Temper is your control over anger. Temperature is how hot something is. They look close, but only one of them is in this idiom — and the wrong one turns an angry man into a sick one.
Not: I saw the red and walked out of the room.
Say: I saw red and walked out of the room.
No the. You are not looking at a red thing; red here is the whole feeling. Adding an article turns the idiom back into a literal sentence about a color.
Not: Stop taking it out to me — it wasn't my fault.
Say: Stop taking it out on me — it wasn't my fault.
The preposition is on. Anger lands on a person like weight, not to a person like a letter. On is also what makes the person the victim rather than the audience.
Your turn
Answer out loud first, then write. Anger words are strong, so notice how much you are claiming each time you use one.
- Think of one small thing that gets on your nerves. Say what it is and how long you can stand it.
- Describe a time somebody hit the roof. Were they right to?
- Write two sentences about a situation where you had to bite your tongue. What did you want to say?
- What do you do to blow off steam? Finish this sentence: When I've had a bad day, I ...
- Somebody at work is taking a bad mood out on other people. Write what you would say to them, using take it out on.
Quick review
Three of these are the moment anger arrives: lose your temper is the general one, hit the roof is loud and short, and see red is the half-second when you stop thinking. Two are what you do with it: blow off steam sends it somewhere useful, take it out on someone sends it somewhere unfair. And three are patience: bite your tongue is holding the words in, keep a cool head is holding your thinking together, and get on someone's nerves is the slow drip that makes all of this necessary. Pay attention to strength — hit the roof is much bigger than get on someone's nerves, and using the big one for a small annoyance sounds strange to a native speaker.