go ballistic

Meaning

1. (idiomatic) To become very angry and irrational.
2. for a usually rocket-powered, predominantly non-glide projectile or aerial vehicle, such as a ballistic missile, to travel to its target partly via unpowered ballistic or quasi-ballistic flight, usually following burnout of its rocket motor
3. (slang) for a powered, usually guided missile or other aerial vehicle to travel on an unguided or ballistic trajectory, having lost power, control or guidance

Synonyms

fly off the handle

blow up

blow a fuse

blow one’s stack

combust

lose one’s temper

hit the ceiling

have a fit

flip one’s wig

have kittens

flip one’s lid

throw a fit

hit the roof

snap

flip

flip out

freak out

go berserk

rage

😡

seethe

be furious

storm

go postal

go up to the wall

Translations

in die Luft gehen

ausrasten

soupe au lait

devenir fou furieux

Etymology

The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.