to make one's blood boil
- idiom
- Informal
- Voter fraud is one of those issues that really makes my blood boil.
- just makes my blood boil
Examples
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I know, it's not just you, but this sort of bench jockeying makes my blood boil.
Blog text (21) -
Oh, I tell you, Ruth, it just makes my blood boil every time I go up there and see that poor little youngster in such an atmosphere.
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Yes, one of those stories that makes your blood boil.
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Turn your mind to something or someone who really makes your blood boil.
-
However, I read an article that just made my blood boil, and I want you to see some of it.
Blog text (10) -
Thanks for that link; it made my blood boil.
Blog text (18) -
All of these make my blood boil.
Blog text (9) -
I'm not totally against welfare, but what makes my blood boil is that it gets abused.
Blog text (15) -
Doesn't this story make your blood boil?
Blog text (7) -
Hearing about the unfair treatment of workers always makes my blood boil.
Synonyms
Make people feel very angry and shocked
To make someone very upset or annoyed
To make someone very angry
Make someone very angry
To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate
To heat a liquid until it boils or make a situation very intense
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
To make someone angry
To make someone angry or upset
To make someone feel angry or nearly crazy
To make feelings like anger or excitement stronger
Antonyms
How Angry
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The construction uses 'make' (cause) plus the bodily image 'blood' and 'boil' (to seethe), so if a learner recognizes the metaphorical sense of 'boil' they can derive 'cause someone to become very angry. However, the figurative use of 'boil' applied to blood is metaphorical and may not be predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the literal senses, even though similar bodily-anger metaphors occur in many languages.
Etymology
Make one's blood boil may come from the picture of blood getting so hot that it would boil, a strong image for how angry someone feels. So it means 'to make someone feel extremely angry'.