To Throw a Fit

To Throw a Fit



Example 1:

Tina: Oh my goodness! Did you just see that little girl at the mall? She threw a fit when her mother refused to buy her candy.


Selma: I know, I saw her! My oldest child used to throw a fit about every little thing, but my youngest daughter never throws a fit about anything!

Tina:Really? Since I don’t have any kids, I would have no idea how to deal with a kid throwing a fit like that! I guess I have a lot of learning to do.


Selma: Oh, you’ll learn fast. Believe me!


Tina: Well, I better get home or my husband will throw a fit. He wants to go to an early movie tonight, so I can’t be late.

Selma: OK, see you tomorrow.

Tina: Bye.

Example 2:

Kitty: I’m just getting so tired of my boss. Every time we don’t do things perfectly, he throws a fit. We are all so afraid of him. Yesterday, when he caught my co-worker talking on her cell phone at her desk, he grabbed the cell phone away from her and threw it on the floor!

Jolene: Wow! Did it break?

Kitty: No, but I don’t think he would care if it did.

Jolene: That must be tough. It makes everyone really stressed out when you have a boss like that. My boss is so easy going. I’ve never seen him throw a fit about anything, even the biggest mistakes.

Kitty: You are so lucky. Why don’t we exchange jobs!

Jolene: No, that’s OK. I like it where I’m at, but maybe I could find you a job in my company. Then you wouldn’t have to put up with a boss who throws a fit over every little thing.

Meaning:
To throw a fit means to get very angry or to fly into a rage about something. In the first example, the little girl wanted candy, but her mother would not give it to her, so the girl threw a fitthat was noticed by everyone in the mall. In the second example, the boss always gets angry when they make mistakes in the office.

This idiom can be found in the LSI textbook Reading Transitions, Unit 8, part 2. This book is used at LSI schools in the level 4 Reading/Vocabulary classes. For more information, please visit: idiomstudy.blogspot.com