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To go off the deep end

Idiom: to go off the deep end; used
as a verb

First Example:

Hugh: Hey, did you go shopping
today? 
Marty: Yeah, I went to Costco.
Hugh: Did you remember to get toilet
paper?         
Marty: Yeah, I got four packages.
Hugh: Cool.  Where are they?                 
Marty: In my car.  I need help carrying them up.
Hugh:Why?                       
Marty: There’s 30 rolls in each pack.
Hugh: Whoa! You didn’t need to go off the deep end!      
Marty: You said to get a few packages.

Hugh: Yeah – the ones with like 6 rolls!
Now we have enough toilet paper for years!  

   
Meaning: The idiom “to
go off the deep end
” is used when someone does something beyond what
is expected, usually crazy or irrational. In the example above, Marty went off the deep end when he bought 4 large
packages of toilet paper at Costco. The
idiom is also used when someone becomes suddenly angry or upset, as in the next
example:

Chrissie: How did the presentation go with
the bosses? 
Pete: Not great.  They didn’t really like our idea.
Chrissie: They didn’t like any of it?             
Pete: Not really.
Chrissie: I’ve been working on that for a
month! Do you think they’re mad? I hope I don’t get fired!
Pete:
Whoa! Don’t go off the deep end.
They appreciated the work we put into it, but they had some other ideas, and
they want us to work together on a new presentation.
Chrissie: Oh good.  Sorry, didn’t mean to panic there.

Meaning: In this example, Chrissie panics because her bosses didn’t
like the project she and Pete had been working on for a month.  However, her sudden panic is irrational, and
Pete calms her down by telling her that they want her to work with him on the
new idea.

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