Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To be in a state of uncontrolled anger: To exhibit extreme, visible, and often irrational fury or rage, as if one were foaming at the mouth like a rabid animal. This phrase describes a person who is so angry they seem to have lost control.

Usage and Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • When he saw the damage to his car, he started to froth at the mouth. (He became uncontrollably angry.)
  • The manager will froth at the mouth if the project is late again. (The manager will be extremely and visibly furious.)
  • She was frothing at the mouth with indignation during the argument. (She was expressing intense, uncontrolled anger.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• This idiom is hyperbolic and vivid. It is rarely used to describe mild annoyance; it is reserved for extreme, almost animalistic rage.
• It often implies that the anger is so intense it seems irrational or disproportionate to the situation.
• The phrase can be used in both literal descriptions of someone's furious demeanor and in more figurative predictions or warnings.

Variants and Related Expressions

• Foam at the mouth: This is a direct synonym and is used interchangeably with "froth at the mouth."
• See red: To become very angry.
• Fly into a rage: To suddenly become very angry.
• Have a fit: To have a sudden outburst of anger.

Synonyms

• Rage: To feel or express violent, uncontrollable anger.
• Fume: To be visibly and silently very angry.
• Seethe: To be filled with intense but often unexpressed anger.

Related Idioms

• Blow a fuse/gasket: To lose one's temper suddenly and violently.
• Go ballistic: To become very angry and start shouting.
• Hit the roof/ceiling: To become very angry suddenly.

Verb

1. be in a state of uncontrolled anger