Wig out

Wig out
verb
1 To act in an undignified manner, especially relative to a given situation: Having been denied the cheeseburger, Mr. Morris wigged out and killed the waiter.
2 To lose one's cool at an inopportune time: Seeing Sharon made Mike wig out and run, thus ruining his wedding.
3 To totally freak out: Jim was wigging out.
4 To go absolutely, totally nuts: As she was screaming obscenities and throwing her porcelain unicorns against the walls, Janet realized that she was wigging out.

ORIGIN Middle English: From Anglo-Norman French vigut, based on Latin vigere

Common origins of the vernacular usage of the term "wig out" date to the early colonial period of North America, during which time members of the ruling gentry would cry "Fie!" and toss their wigs into the air upon receiving good news, much like modern graduates. Over time, such demonstrations of joy degenerated into any sort of spontaneous emotional response, including hysterics and "women's troubles," thus earning it an association with craziness and overzealous displays of malaise. The phrase fell out of favor during the Revolution, but was revived thanks to the now-defunct Whig Party and the deaths of their two Presidential office-holders, John Tyler and William Henry Harrison. The untimely deaths of both men were dubbed "Whigging out of office" but this was then shortened to the more common form already in place.

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