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to ang kong siao

to ang kong siao

9.9
To become very upset and act without control
  • idiom
  • Slang
translation icon : enloquecer
  • He tends to ang kong siao when he gets bad news.

Examples

  • Don't ang kong siao over a small mistake.

  • She went ang kong siao when she heard the news.

  • Don't go ang kong siao; it's just a game.

  • He gets ang kong siao over the smallest things.

  • He tends to ang kong siao when he gets bad news.

  • She went ang kong siao when she heard the news.

  • Don't go ang kong siao; it's just a game.

Synonyms

to go bananas
vsto ang kong siao
  • Informal
8 8.1

To lose control because you are very excited or angry

is used more for upset from bad news rather than excitement
to go batshit
vsto ang kong siao
  • Offensive
2 9.9

To become very angry and act in a wild, out of control way

is more about reacting with upset or agitation to bad news
to kee siao
vsto ang kong siao
  • Slang
9.9

To act in a loud, wild, and foolish way

focuses on emotional upset and irrational reaction to frustration

How Agitated

to go berserk
  • Informal
27 7.7
to freak out
  • Informal
430 6.8
to ang kong siao
  • Slang
9.9
to upset
362 1.0

Surface Forms

ang kong siao infinitive
ang kong siaod past participle
ang kong siaoing present participle
ang kong siaos third person singular

Morphology

ang + kong + siao

The phrase is a non-standard loan/colloquial string whose constituent forms are not English dictionary items here, so an average B1 learner who only knows English vocabulary would not be able to derive the meaning. Its meaning ('become extremely upset/act crazily') is idiomatic and tied to specific dialectal usage rather than transparent composition from recognisable English parts, making it unpredictable to learners.

Etymology

Ang kong siao may come from the Hokkien words ang ('red') and siao ('crazy'), which makes a picture of someone turning red and losing control. That's why it means 'to become very upset, agitated, or act crazily'.