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Glite Dictionary
to go round the bend

to go round the bend

3 8.6
To become so angry or stressed that you cannot think clearly
  • idiom
  • UK
: volverse loco
  • Look, Tyler, maybe you can't see it, but you've gone round the bend a little,

Examples

  • Would you think I had gone round the bend?

    Blog text (12)

  • Let's say some woman goes round the bend and murders her children.

    Blog text (7)

  • Do you think I've gone round the bend?

    Alice in Wonderland (2010)

  • After the stressful week at work, I felt like I was going round the bend from exhaustion.

  • The constant noise outside made me think my neighbor had gone round the bend with irritation.

  • When she started talking to her plants, I wondered if she had gone round the bend a bit.

Synonyms

to go off the deep end
vsto go round the bend
  • Informal
19 8.1

Suddenly act in a very emotional and out of control way

is caused by extreme stress or annoyance rather than a sudden outburst
to come unhinged
vsto go round the bend
  • Informal
3 8.2

To lose control of your feelings and act very upset

is a loss of sanity usually caused by extreme stress or annoyance
to go batshit
vsto go round the bend
  • Offensive
2 9.9

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

is loss of sanity that usually follows extreme stress or annoyance
to lose one's mind
vsto go round the bend
  • Informal
1 6.7

Become very anxious, confused, or upset and act in a way that does not make sense

is an actual loss of sanity usually caused by strong stress or annoyance
to lose one's yarbles
vsto go round the bend
  • Archaic
9.9

To start behaving in a strange and out of control way

usually follows extreme stress or strong annoyance
to go out of one's mind
vsto go round the bend
  • Informal
7.3

To be unable to think clearly because you are very worried or upset

is losing sanity mainly from strong stress or persistent annoyance
to lose the run of oneself
vsto go round the bend
  • Archaic
9.9

Act in a confused or uncontrolled way because of strong emotion

is a deeper loss of sanity linked to extreme stress or annoyance

Antonyms

to keep one's cool
  • Informal
1 3.4

Stay calm and control your feelings when things are hard

How Crazy

to go round the bend
  • UK
3 8.6
to lose it
  • Informal
326 7.5
to keep one's cool
  • Informal
1 3.4

Surface Forms

go round the bend infinitive
went round the bend past
gone round the bend past participle
going round the bend present participle
goes round the bend third person singular

Morphology

go + round + the + bend

The meaning 'to lose one's sanity' is not predictably derived from the literal constituents 'go' (enter a state), 'round' (around), and 'bend' (a curve); a literal motion interpretation is much more salient. This is a colloquial idiom (chiefly British) whose figurative sense is language-specific and thus opaque to a B1 learner who only knows the individual words.

Etymology

The idiom go round the bend may come from the image of someone going round a sharp bend in a road and feeling dizzy and confused. That's why it now means 'lose your mind' or 'go mad'.