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Etymology Journal ยท S

Stop running around like a banshee

Meaning

To stop running wildly or screeching at the top of your lungs. It describes someone who is completely out of control and making a massive racket.

Exasperated, loud

Used in a sentence

  • Please stop running around like a banshee before the neighbors complain.
  • The kids are running around like a banshee in the hallway, and I am trying to work.
  • If you don't stop running around like a banshee, you are going to bed early.

The backstory

The term comes from Irish mythology, where a banshee is a female spirit whose piercing wail heralds death. Americans adapted the terrifying imagery to describe energetic, noisy children.

Heard in

Nationwide

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