Go ballistic

Origin

The term 'ballistic' describes the flight of a projectile, like a missile, once its engines have shut down and it's hurtling towards its target under the force of gravity. During the Cold War, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) introduced a terrifying image of something launching with immense, uncontrollable power and then continuing on an unstoppable, destructive trajectory. This dramatic imagery of a missile being unleashed, accelerating rapidly to achieve its path, perfectly captured the sudden, explosive, and often destructive eruption of human anger. So, to 'go ballistic' became a vivid, modern metaphor for losing one's temper in a powerful, uncontainable, and often overwhelming way, just like a missile rocketing into the sky.