English Help Online's Blog

This time around I would like to write about the expression “lose one’s cool”. We use it when we want to talk about a person who loses their ability to remain calm in a stressful situation. Here are some ways to use it in sentences.

Jack is a very calm person. He never loses his cool.

My friend got fired from his job because he lost his cool with one of the clients.

Bill can be a very aggressive person, but you shouldn’t lose your cool with him. If he says something offensive, just ignore him.

I need to get some air. I’m very upset right now because of what Jerry just said, and I feel like I’m going to lose my cool.

So, if a person loses their cool, they can either get upset or angry about something. The difference is that if a person gets upset, they have an emotional reaction to a bad situation, but if they get angry, they have an aggressive reaction to the situation. Therefore, being upset is much more passive in feeling than being angry.

Generally speaking, if a person loses their cool by getting upset, they cry. If a person loses their cool by getting angry, they will shout or could possibly do something a little violent like hitting someone or breaking something.