Skip to main content

Difference between Come up for air adn Go up in the air

come up for air—(U.S. sl.) take a break; have a rest:

  • George decides to revisit the place in order to “come up for air” and remember what the good life used to be.

go up in the air—(coll.) become angry; lose one’s temper:

  • He is so irritable these days that he goes up in the air for no reason at all.

Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase vanish into thin air—disappear completely from sight or existence:

  • Speed, confidence, shooting ability, all seemed to have vanished into thin air.