Blowing my stack

Reader question:

Please explain this sentence: I’m sorry, I apologize for blowing my stack.

My comments:

The speaker expresses regret for losing his or her temper, becoming angry all of a sudden, throwing a tantrum like child and generally losing control of themselves.

Here, the speaker likens blowing their top – a similar expression – to a stack letting off its smoke or steam.

A stack is a piece of chimney, such as the tall one found in the old factory or one found on any old ship powered by steam engines.

The steam engine, of course, has to let out the vaporized air or steam accumulated inside its stack – otherwise, the stack might, possibly, explode.

Have you ever seen a locomotive train running with white steam shooting out from its stack? That’s literally something blowing its stack – and letting out its pent-up air.

For someone blowing their stack is likewise. It means they are letting out all their pent-up emotions at once, emotions such as anger, grief, or frustration.

And doing so suddenly and explosively.

The locomotive is no longer seen today, except in a museum. Likewise, the expression “blowing one’s stack” is just as old. Here’s an explanation from StrangePhrases.com:

The phrase originated in early 20th-century America, tied to steam-powered machinery, where a ‘stack’ (chimney) could release pressure explosively if overheated. Its earliest recorded use appears in 1930s American slang, notably in The Chicago Tribune (1938), describing a worker ‘blowing his stack’ over a dispute. The idiom gained traction during the industrial era, amplified by labor tensions and popularized in 1940s radio dramas and noir films depicting volatile characters. Its spread across English-speaking cultures, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, stems from its dynamic imagery and applicability to emotional outbursts, from factory floors to domestic spats.

StrangePhrase.com, like, really?

Well, apparently StrangePhrases.com is real and, why not? Blowing one’s stack certainly sounds like a strange phrase, especially to the foreign ear.

One more point. Just like the steam engine blowing its steam off violently and quickly, make sure you use this expression in similar situations where someone loses their temper suddenly, catching anyone at the receiving end of it unprepared.

All right, let’s read a few media examples:

1. Veep is a comedy, but it’s also satire, and because it takes place in a universe that very closely mirrors an American political universe that often seems irreparably broken, it can’t help but make statements and observations that seem too important to be laughed off. Such was the case in tonight’s episode, “Convention,” which centered around President Selina Meyer’s search for a new running mate but hinged on the bridge-burning monologue of campaign manager Amy Brookheimer.

I’ve praised Anna Chlumsky in these recaps before, but her performance in “Convention,” particularly during her exit aria, should be submitted for Emmy consideration. She was an absolute dynamo in dealing with Meyer’s latest adviser Karen, who never makes declarative sentences and always tries to drop in on photo ops, and blows her stack with incredible passion and intensity once she gets pushed to the brink. Unable to take Karen any longer, Amy lashes out at Selina, sticking at first to Veep’s particular brand of biting repartee. “I have bitten my tongue so long it looks like a dog’s cushion,” she says. “But no more. You have made it impossible to do this job. You have two settings: No decision, and bad decision. I wouldn’t let you run a bath without having the Coast Guard and the fire department standing by. But yet here you are, running America. You are the worst thing to happen to this country since food in buckets. And maybe slavery. I’ve had enough. I’m gone.”

She moves to exit, but then comes back for one more turn of the knife. Amy sets aside metaphor and hyperbole in favor of pure, unadulterated bile. “You have achieved nothing, apart from one thing: The fact that you are a woman means we will have no more women presidents,” she hisses. “Because we tried one, and she f—ing sucked.”

Amy’s last statement to Selina is actually “Goodbye, Ma’am,” because even in writing off the person, she still can’t bring herself to disrespect the office of the President. That’s perhaps the thing that makes Amy’s fall so heartbreaking: Despite her rampant cynicism about how the American political system works, deep down she really believes in its ability to be transformative. That’s true of most of the characters on Veep, up to and including Selina. In the two previous episodes, for example, she seems genuinely excited about the prospect of creating peace with foreign nations – not just because it’s a self-aggrandizing boost to her legacy (though that’s definitely a part of it), but because she has genuinely contributed to the betterment of society on a very large scale. These people really believe in America, and though they all have distorted personalities and ways of looking at the world, they wouldn’t have come to Washington unless they really did think the government could ultimately do something to help people.

Of course, plenty of elements get in the way: money, ego, and perhaps most crucially, perception. In writing off Selina, Amy suggests that not only has she ruined her own presidency, but also the potential presidency of anyone possessing a vagina. In giving life to that statement, Amy brings up a scenario playing out in the current election cycle. The pressure on Hillary Clinton is gigantic, as not only does she have to shoulder the burden of the Clinton legacy, but she also has the weight of the entirety of her gender on her back. Is it fair? Absolutely not. But that is the strange transitional world in which we currently operate, and the stakes are gigantic.

- Veep recap: Convention, by Kyle Anderson, EW.com, May 11, 2015.

2. Blowing your stack. Losing your cool. Hitting the roof. Going full-on Laura Dern in Enlightened. Having an explosive emotional reaction when we are under stress or overwhelmed is a terrible – yet very common – experience. Frustrated parents, overextended spouses, pressure-cooked professionals and highly sensitive people are all particularly vulnerable to spinning out of control in this way. And this particular brand of blind rage has a name: It’s called emotional flooding. And it’s a slippery slope. According to experts, the more stress we have in our lives, the easier and faster we tend to lose our sh#@.

So What is Emotional Flooding?

Flooding is defined by therapist Stephanie Manes as follows:

The difference between flooding and more manageable experiences of our emotions is one of magnitude. You reach the point when your thinking brain – the part that can take in gray areas, consider other sides, stay aware of the real state of affairs – is shut out.”

Here are three things to understand about emotional flooding, so you can bail yourself out the next time a wave hits:

First, our bodies physiologically change.

It’s important to know that flooding is a physiological response to an emotional trigger. When we go into fight-or-flight mode during a heated argument, our nervous system gets hijacked, stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol course through our bodies, and there is decreased activity in our prefrontal cortex – the area of the brain that controls executive functioning and more sophisticated cognition. We literally become disoriented, lose the ability to see multiple perspectives and get stuck on whatever story we’re telling ourselves (aka I’m right and you are the literal worst). Fascinatingly, our memories also become distorted, which explains why we momentarily forget we ever loved the target of our fury in the first place.

Secondly, your body needs 20 minutes to reset.

According to relationship researcher John Gottman, the average person needs 20 minutes for their body to reset after they become flooded. You may think you’re calm a few minutes after a blow-up, but spoiler alert (and physiologically speaking), you’re not. With this number in mind, researchers at Gottman’s institute recommend taking a 20-minute break if you sense an argument starting to escalate. But while you’re off cooling down, “refrain from venting to others, or even to yourself,” writes couples therapist Kerry Lusignan. “Instead, channel your turmoil into something unrelated. Go for a walk, fold the laundry, weed the garden, or do anything that takes your mind away from the conflict.” May we suggest rage cleaning?

Thirdly, take note of how you’re reacting and feeling.

The proven way to stop yourself from flooding is – you guessed it – buzzword of the century: mindfulness. But how do you become mindful at the exact moment you’re starting to feel murder-y? Get curious about what you are experiencing, suggests Diane Musho Hamilton, an expert on conflict resolution, in an article for the Harvard Business Review. “We may notice a change in our tone of voice, gripping sensations in the belly, or a sudden desire to withdraw. Each of us has particular bodily and behavioral cues that alert us to the reality that we feel threatened, and are therefore running on automatic pilot.”

If we simply focus on these feelings without trying to control or change them, we can override our fight-or-flight instincts, gain some distance from our swirling thoughts, and become more present. This takes lots of practice. But it’s a muscle worth strengthening. After all, if we can learn to stop the flooding, we’ll have a lot less mess to mop up later.

- What Is Emotional Flooding and What Should I Do the Next Time It Happens? PureWow.com, October 21, 2019.

3. President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about his hoarse voice on Monday with an admission that he’d been shouting at “stupid” officials over a trade dispute – an explanation that became even more unsettling after he misheard a reporter’s “follow-up” as “polyp.”

The shallow exchange unfolded during an Oval Office gathering to highlight preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it veered sharply into questions about Trump’s health and his handling of ongoing trade disputes.

The reporter pressed Trump on why he sounded raspy: “Your voice sounds rough. Are you feeling alright?”

“I feel great,” Trump said, waving off the question and insisting there was no health issue.

He went further, attributing the hoarseness to a recent outburst at foreign officials over tariffs, but he declined to name them.

“I was shouting at people because they were stupid about something having to do with trade and a country, and I straightened it out. But I blew my stack at these people.”

The vague admission instantly raised skepticism about the dispute he referenced. Trump declined to identify the country involved, offering only that it had attempted to rework an existing agreement. “And I wasn’t happy about it,” he said, without elaborating.

“Well, it sounds like there’s a follow-up there – ” the reporter responded before Trump suddenly cut in. “What? I thought you said there was a polyp. I don’t want to hear that!”

The half-witted response prompted a wave of ridicule on social media as the president continued to insist his gravelly voice was the result of forceful negotiation rather than any medical problem. The White House offered no further explanation.

Observers fixated on Trump’s lame attempt at humor.

Numerous reactions on X included:

“Who among us doesn’t confuse follow-up with polyp?” one person asked on a viral thread posted by independent journalist Aaron Rupar.

“Now that’s a Freudian… hearing?” another wrote, catching what sounded like an accidental diagnosis buried in Trump’s phrasing.

“That’s telling. Very odd that he’d mishear a word such as that unless he’s been hearing it a lot,” said one commenter, suggesting the mention of polyps may have revealed more than intended.

The episode came at a time when Trump’s health and overall stamina remain highly scrutinized, particularly as he manages a crowded foreign-policy agenda.

- ‘I Don’t Want to Hear That!’: Trump Admits He ‘Blew His Stack’ on World Leader, But the Word He Claims He Misheard Is Raising Serious Red Flags, AtlantaBlackStar.com, November 18, 2025.

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）