disjoncter

to trip a circuit breaker

verb dees-zhohnk-TEH Rare

Also means

to go crazy (informal)

Usage Note

Disjoncter literally means for a circuit breaker (disjoncteur) to trip. In informal spoken French it means to lose one's mind or snap: il a complètement disjoncté (he totally lost it). The noun disjoncteur is the electrical circuit breaker.

Examples

"Le disjoncteur a disjoncté pendant l'orage."

Natural Translation

The circuit breaker tripped during the storm.

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