Lose it

Hi,

Is this idiomatic expression(idiom?) commonly used in both BE and AE? It's very common in AmeE. I can't speak for BrE.



"lose it" - Is this an idiom?

e.g. - She lost it and threw a tantrum of her own.



The long expression woul

Hi Clive,

Many thanks for answering my question.

"Lose it" is very common in AE, and 'it' would mean 'one's temper.'

I see, thanks again for your help, Clive!

Around here , losing one's temper commonly means to get angry. More broadly, 'losing it' means losing one's composure, a word that is somewhat synonymous with temper but, at least as far as common usage goes, composure is not particularly suggestive of anger.

Thanks Davkett


'Lose it' means 'lose composure'.....!

Ah, then the expression could mean;

- become

Basically, it suggests losing control over one's expressive emotions: joy, grief, fear, anger, etc.

Dear Candy,

I have heard British people say «She lost it». They mean «she lost her temper suddenly».

Kind regards,

In past tense, it can mean "to go crazy."

"why is she talking to that tree?"

"I don't know, she's totally lost it."

Yes, Vorpar, that's very familiar usage; my definition should have included both loss of emotional control and loss of rationality.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your help.
Ah, yes, of course! I think I understand.
People sometimes lose control when they are very excited.
It could be because of great joy, or it could be because of terrible fear.....!
In these cases, I can use 'lose it.'