Page 48 - Conversation 3

(24) Go off on one

Introduction

Surprise parties are meant to be fun, but sometimes they go wrong and people can get very
angry. That's what happened to Feifei in this episode. We can tell you an English phrase to help
you explain that.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/the-english-we-speak_2023/ep-230410

Transcript

Feifei
Hello, and this is The English We Speak with me, Feifei…

Neil
…and me, Neil. Have you seen how angry Rob is today? Do you know what happened?

Feifei
Err, yes. You remember, it was his birthday yesterday? I decided to throw him a surprise
birthday party!

Neil
That's a really nice thing to do. Does he hate surprises?

Feifei
Now he does. You see, I made it such a surprise that I forgot to tell anybody that it was
happening. So, when he got to the party venue, no one was there.

Neil
That sounds awful. Well, at least I know why I didn't get invited. I was quite annoyed you'd
forgotten me!

Feifei
Well, I'm glad you didn't go off on one as well!

Neil
'Go off on one' – is that today's expression?

Feifei
Yes, it is! I thought we could teach something while I hide from Rob. 'go off on one' is an
informal expression and means 'to become suddenly very angry'.

Neil
Right. Let's listen to some examples of this expression while I talk to Rob.