“Going Postal” Meaning, Origin and Examples

Have you ever heard someone use the term ‘going postal’ and wondered what they were referring to? We are going to look at the meaning of this saying and where it came from. We will also take a look at how we can use the saying in a conversation.

“Going Postal” Meaning, Origin and Usage

Key Takeaways

  • The phrase “going postal” refers to someone becoming extremely angry and losing control, often in a violent or aggressive manner. It is used more generally today to describe someone having an extreme outburst of rage, the term has a dark and serious origin.
Going Postal
Going Postal – Created by 7ESL

“Going Postal” Meaning

The phrase “going postal” refers to someone becoming extremely angry or agitated, often to the point of losing control. It is commonly used to describe situations where a person reacts violently or irrationally due to stress, frustration, or overwhelming emotions.

Examples:

  • “After weeks of pressure at work, he finally went postal during the meeting.”
  • “You don’t want to push her too far; she might just go postal.”

Origin of this idiom

The term ‘going postal’ became a popular idiom in the 1980s and 1990s when several tragic murders occurred by workers in the US postal service. These workers killed over 40 of their fellow employees and thus the term ‘going postal’ was coined.

Usage of “Going Postal” 

  • In a stressful situation:

“After dealing with endless customer complaints, he looked like he was about to go postal.”

  • Talking about frustration:

“The traffic was so bad, I almost went postal sitting in my car for hours.”

  • In a workplace context:

“If the printer jams one more time, I’m going to go postal.”

  • Describing someone’s outburst:

“When they canceled his flight, he nearly went postal at the ticket counter.”

Related Terms to “Going Postal” 

  • Blow a fuse – to become very angry or lose one’s temper suddenly.
  • Snap – to suddenly lose control or become very angry, often unexpectedly.
  • Freak out – to react with extreme agitation or anxiety; to lose composure.
  • Go off the deep end – to become extremely angry or irrational.
  • Lose it – to lose control of one’s emotions, often leading to an outburst.
  • Have a meltdown – to experience a sudden breakdown of emotional stability.
  • Fly off the handle – to react suddenly and angrily without warning.
  • Throw a tantrum – to have an emotional outburst, typically characterized by unreasonable anger.
  • Go berserk – to act in a frenzied or wildly uncontrolled manner.
  • Go haywire – to become chaotic or out of control.

Other Ways to Say the Phrase

There are many other ways in which you can describe this term.

Here are some examples of things you might say.

  • Losing the plot
  • Going insane

“Going Postal” Examples

Examples in Statements

A statement to show how angry someone is.

  • ‘Bob is going postal now he has seen the mess that his kids made at the house party they threw.’

This statement is from a news report.

  • ‘Locals have been going postal over the new highway which is being built.’

Conversation Examples

You may be wondering how the phrase ‘going postal’ might fit into a conversation. Here are some examples of people using the term to describe someone who is incredibly angry.

The first conversation is between two colleagues.

  • Person 1: “I can’t believe how mad Susan was when she found out about getting fired.”
  • Person 2: “I know, she was going postal over the situation.”

This conversation happens between two friends, one of whom is getting angry.

  • Person 1: “I am so annoyed, I’m going to really lose my temper soon.”
  • Person 2: “There’s no need for going postal, just stay calm.”

 

  • Person 1: “Did you see how angry Peter was at work?”
  • Person 2: “Yes, he was totally going postal, he even punched the wall.”
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