go amuck
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but they all started going amuck as soon as they got here. The villagers were cleaning up debris for days after the bulls went amuck through the streets.
2. To become bad or go awry; to get out of control; to go haywire. This whole operation has gone amuck. I don't know how we can be expected to finish by the deadline under these conditions.
3. dated To rush around in a violent, murderous frenzy. (Note: This is the phrase's original specific meaning, taken from Malay. "Amuck" is an older alternative spelling of "amok," which is preferred today.) Fueled by alcohol and cocaine, Dave went amuck when his wife told him she'd been seeing someone else. Luckily, a neighbor called the police when they heard such a commotion.
run amuck
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but they all started running amuck as soon as they got here. The villagers were cleaning up debris for days after the bulls ran amuck through the streets.
2. To become bad or go awry; to get out of control; to go haywire. This whole operation has run amuck. I don't know how we can be expected to finish under the deadline in these conditions.
3. dated To rush around in a violent, murderous frenzy. (Note: This is the phrase's original specific meaning, taken from Malay. "Amuck" is an older alternative spelling of "amok," which is preferred today.) Fueled by alcohol and cocaine, Dave ran amuck when his wife told him she'd been seeing someone else. Luckily, a neighbor called the police when they heard such a commotion.
run amok
Also, run riot or wild . Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner. For example, I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run amok and have a hard time calming down , or The weeds are running riot in the lawn, or The children were running wild in the playground. Amok comes from a Malay word for "frenzied" and was adopted into English, and at first spelled amuck, in the second half of the 1600s. Run riot dates from the early 1500s and derives from an earlier sense, that is, a hound's following an animal scent. Run wild alludes to an animal reverting to its natural, uncultivated state; its figurative use dates from the late 1700s.