to get up the wall
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
enfadarse
- She tends to get up the wall when things don’t go as planned.
Examples
-
Don't get up the wall over small things!
-
She really gets up the wall when people are late.
-
His constant whistling really makes me get up the wall.
-
If I hear that song one more time, I’ll get up the wall.
-
His constant whistling really makes me get up the wall.
-
If I hear that song one more time, I’ll get up the wall.
-
She tends to get up the wall when things don’t go as planned.
Synonyms
4
6.7
To suddenly become very angry
3
6.8
To suddenly get very angry
1
8.0
Get very angry and shout loudly
1
9.6
To become too angry or upset about small things
1
8.1
To feel very restless and anxious because of boredom or frustration
To suddenly become very angry
Get very angry or upset about small things
Show sudden anger, often by becoming tense in the face or voice
To react angrily and show offended pride when criticized
To become angry or upset
To suddenly become very angry or upset and act childishly
Antonyms
How Annoyed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to become very annoyed or frustrated' cannot be reliably derived from the literal meanings of 'get' (to obtain/move), 'up' (direction), and 'wall' (a barrier). This is an idiomatic use (related to constructions like 'drive someone up the wall') where the emotional meaning is non-compositional and would not be predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the parts.
Etymology
Get up the wall may come from the image of someone so annoyed they climb up a wall or pace along it, acting unable to stay calm. So, get up the wall means 'to become very annoyed'.