English Idioms

Lose It

Meaning:

• Get angry and lose control of your emotions
• Go insane or crazy

Frequency of Use: High

1. Maria lost it when some stole her new car.
2. My sister lost it when she found out that her husband was injured in a car accident.
3. Some of the students lost it when they didn’t pass the test. They felt that the teacher was completely unfair.
4. Why did the man lose it and crash his car into the lake? That was so strange.

Would you lose it, just be upset, or feel just fine in these situations?

• Someone takes your bicycle outside of your house.
• A friend eats some of your food at home without your permission.
• The doctor says that you only have three weeks to live.
• Your computer dies with all of your documents, pictures, and other important files. You have no backup.
• Your dog eats your steak off the table.

Your brother has decided to drop out of school and join a rock band instead of pursuing a major in business to help the family business. You see, your dad had been planning on your brother taking over in a couple of years. Your brother is also going to marry the drummer of the band, Susana, who he has known for less than three weeks. Finally, your brother is keeping Susana’s dog in the house, and it has torn up the carpet in the front room.

With all this going on, you know that your dad is going to lose it for sure.  So, what can you do to calm down the situation so you don’t need to call the police when your dad finds out all of this news?

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom so you become more confident in using it.