Aug 3, 2008

July Reading: Ready to Blow a Fuse?

Reading:

Ready to Blow a Fuse?

Notes:
blow a fuse also, blow a gasket, blow one’s top/stack/cool

Lose one's temper, express furious anger.

When his paycheck bounced, John blew a fuse.

Tell Mom what really happened before she blows a gasket.

An electric fuse is said to "blow" (melt) when the circuit is overloaded, whereas a gasket, used to seal a piston, "blows" (breaks) when the pressure is too high. The first of these slangy terms dates from the 1930s, the second from the 1940s. (from Answer.com)

to one’s face

Openly; directly.

I do not have the nerve to tell him to his face that he wasn't invited and shouldn't have come.

They don't want to acknowledge to someone's face that they need to lose weight.

The Golden Rule

The biblical teaching that one should behave toward others as one would have others behave toward oneself.

A soft answer turneth away wrath.

A gentle reply to someone who is angry will pacify that person. This saying comes from the Book of Proverbs in the Bible.

hot under the collar

Very angry.

soothe ruffled feathers

To make someone feel calmer and less angry.

ruffle someone's feathers

Annoy or offend someone.