mad as hops

9.9

Feeling very angry and showing it

idiom

Archaic

: furioso como el lúpulo

She was mad as hops when she heard about the mistake.

Examples

They were mad as hops after learning about the unfair decision.
He gets mad as hops if you interrupt him while he's speaking.
If you break his prized vase, he'll be mad as hops.
Don't make him mad as hops!
After the argument, she was mad as hops!
She was mad as hops when she found out that her promotion was given to someone else.
They were mad as hops after the referee made a bad call during the game.

Synonyms

angry

vsmad as hops

∞ 1.0

Feeling very annoyed or upset

is an idiom expressing a more intense, vivid emotional state

mad

vsmad as hops

∞ 1.0

Feeling angry or upset with someone

is a vivid, extreme expression of furious feeling

pissed

vsmad as hops

Informal

631 8.4

Feeling very angry or annoyed

is a stronger vivid idiom indicating more extreme anger

pissed off

vsmad as hops

Informal

235 8.6

Very angry or annoyed

is a stronger idiom expressing a higher level of anger

furious

vsmad as hops

206 3.0

Very angry and ready to shout or complain

is an informal idiom expressing the same strong feeling

outraged

vsmad as hops

147 4.1

Feeling very angry and shocked because something seems unfair

is strong anger without the clear shock element

raging

vsmad as hops

82 3.9

Very strong and intense, often violent and out of control

is the idiom for personal extreme anger, not any intense force

enraged

vsmad as hops

46 4.1

Very angry and likely to act violently

is extreme anger without the uncontrollable behaviour

ticked off

vsmad as hops

Informal

28 7.9

Feeling angry or annoyed about something

is a more intense idiom, not only mild annoyance

irate

vsmad as hops

22 5.3

Very angry and showing it

is an informal idiom rather than a formal term for anger

livid

vsmad as hops

20 5.5

Very angry and hard to calm

is a common idiom for that same high anger

incensed

vsmad as hops

Formal

19 6.2

Very angry because of something unfair or wrong

is strong anger but not limited to injustice as cause

infuriated

vsmad as hops

11 4.5

Feeling very angry because someone treated you unfairly

is extreme anger not limited to being provoked

apoplectic

vsmad as hops

7 8.6

So angry that you cannot speak or act calmly

is extreme anger not focused on physical collapse

maddened

vsmad as hops

3 5.2

Very angry and acting out of control

is extreme anger without the driven, frantic behaviour

angered

vsmad as hops

2 2.5

Feeling very furious because someone did something unfair or rude

is a vivid idiom conveying a higher level of strong feeling

rageful

vsmad as hops

1 4.8

Feeling very angry and likely to shout or lose control

is the idiom for the same extreme feeling in casual speech

mad as a wet hen

vsmad as hops

Informal

1 9.8

Very angry or upset

is a general idiom for extreme anger, not only noisy complaining

boiling mad

vsmad as hops

Informal

1 4.8

Feeling very angry

is an idiom expressing the same extreme feeling

mad as a meat axe

vsmad as hops

Archaic

1 9.9

Very angry and acting without thinking

is extreme anger that does not always involve violent action

apoplectic with rage

vsmad as hops

1 8.8

Very angry and unable to control your words or actions

is extreme anger without the extreme physical collapse image

mad as a cut snake

vsmad as hops

Australian

1 9.9

Feeling extremely angry and acting wildly

is extreme anger that may not include violent or wild behaviour

mad enough to chew nails

vsmad as hops

Archaic

1 9.9

Very angry and ready to do something extreme

is an extreme expression without the implied dangerous intent

rip-snorting mad

vsmad as hops

Informal

1 9.5

Being very angry and hard to calm

is a colorful idiom for the same extreme emotion

mad as a mongoose

vsmad as hops

Informal

9.9

Very angry and unable to stay calm

is the idiom for strong feeling but may lack restlessness

wild as a wet hen

vsmad as hops

Informal

9.4

Feeling very angry and upset

is an idiom for strong anger but more general in use

in a radge

vsmad as hops

Slang

9.9

Feeling very angry and annoyed

is an idiom for extreme anger but more standard

angry as a wet hen

vsmad as hops

9.9

Feeling very angry and upset

is general extreme anger without the noisy complaint

Antonyms

calm

680 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

peaceful

324 1.0

Calm and quiet, without noise or trouble

How Angry

mad as hops

Archaic

9.9

furious

206 3.0

angry

∞ 1.0

annoyed

143 1.0

irritated

56 3.1

Surface Forms

mad as hops positive

Morphology

mad + as + hops

The meaning 'extremely angry' cannot be predicted from the literal constituents: 'hops' refers to a plant used in beer and has no clear association with anger, so combining 'mad' + 'as' + 'hops' does not yield the intended sense. This is a dialectal/simile-based idiom whose relation to the constituents is not compositional, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

The idiom mad as hops may come from old beer made with lots of hops. People who drank too much could become loud and wild, so the phrase came to mean 'extremely angry or furious'.