perder los estribos
/peɾˌdeɾ los esˈtɾibos/
To blow your top in Spanish is perder los estribos.
The phrase is used to describe someone who suddenly becomes very angry and loses their self-control.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, perder los estribos means 'to lose the stirrups,' which refers to a rider losing control of a horse.
Which one should you use?
You can also use the informal expressions Echar chispas (throwing sparks), Ponerse hecho una fiera (getting as furious as a wild animal) or Estallar de rabia (burst with anger).
How does it change in a sentence?
This is an impersonal idiom. You do not change los estribos to match the person, but you must conjugate the verb perder to match the subject, such as using perdí los estribos for 'I blew my top'.
How do you pronounce it?
/peɾˌdeɾ los esˈtɾibos/
Did you know?
- The phrase estallar de rabia uses rabia, which can mean 'anger' in a general sense but also refers specifically to the disease 'rabies'.
- While perder los estribos is common across the Spanish-speaking world, Portuguese and Catalan have almost identical versions of the phrase using their own words for 'stirrups'.
- The verb perder in this phrase shares its Latin origin with the English word 'perdition'. While 'perdition' refers to spiritual ruin, perder los estribos refers to a loss of mental or physical stability.
Examples in context
- El jefe perdió los estribos cuando escuchó las malas noticias.The boss blew his top when he heard the bad news.
- La madre explotó de ira al enterarse de la travesura que habían hecho sus hijos.The mother blew her top when she found out about the mischief her children had caused.
- El profesor perdió la calma frente a la falta de interés de sus alumnos.The teacher blew his top in front of his students' lack of interest.
- Cuando le rompieron su guitarra, el músico echó chispas de furia.When his guitar got broken, the musician blew his top in anger.
- Después de escuchar las críticas, se puso hecho una fiera y comenzó a gritar.After hearing the criticisms, he blew his top and started yelling.
- Antonio estalló de rabia cuando su hermano le arruinó su fiesta sorpresa.Antonio blew his top when his brother ruined his surprise party.
- No pudo perder los estribos a pesar de la provocación.He could not blow his top despite the provocation.
- No deberías perder los estribos con los clientes.You shouldn't lose your temper with the customers.
- Es difícil no perder los estribos en el tráfico.It is hard not to lose one's cool in traffic.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are discussing a difficult coworker.
- Mateo¿Viste que Juan perdió los estribos hoy?Did you see that Juan blew his top today?
- MaríaSí, fue una situación muy tensa.Yes, it was a very tense situation.
- MateoÉl no suele perder los estribos así.He doesn't usually lose his temper like that.
- MaríaEs verdad, me sorprendió mucho verlo así.True, it surprised me a lot to see him like that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry perder los estribos, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries los, perder, perder los estribos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
