{"id":10263,"date":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10263"},"modified":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T20:18:51","slug":"going-postal-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/going-postal-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Postal \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you afraid that a sullen, disgruntled, coworker is about to do something violent? You could say that you\u2019re scared he is \u201c<strong>going postal<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This post explores what the phrase means, where it comes from, and how to use it in a sentence.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The American expression \u201c<strong>going postal<\/strong>\u201d means that someone is about to embark on a spree of violence. \u201cGoing postal\u201d usually refers to <u>angry (former) employees who commit acts of mass violence \u2014 typically using firearms \u2014 at work<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>You can conjugate the verb \u201cto be\u201d in any relevant way; besides \u201cgoing postal,\u201d you can also say:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>About to go postal.<\/li>\n<li>Went postal.<\/li>\n<li>Has gone postal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>These example sentences show how you can use the phrase \u201cgoing postal\u201d in a sentence:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cMike has been depressed and demotivated for months now, and did you see the way he looked at the boss yesterday? You don\u2019t think he\u2019s <strong>going postal<\/strong>, do you?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIf you\u2019re genuinely afraid that the employee you are about to fire <strong>will go postal<\/strong>, it\u2019s best to hire a security expert before breaking the news.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cDon\u2019t think only postal workers <strong>go postal<\/strong> \u2014 they might have started the trend, but workplace violence occurs across industries.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u201c<strong>going postal<\/strong>,\u201d which refers to incidents of mass violence in the workplace, refers <u>to a string of mass shootings disgruntled US postal workers committed<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>The first of these incidents took place in <strong>1986<\/strong>, when an <u>Oklahoma postal worker fatally shot 14 coworkers and wounded six more<\/u>. Following this first mass shooting, more than 20 further acts of mass\u00a0 workplace violence unfolded between 1986 and 1997.<\/p>\n<p>Violence often takes place in clusters; previous acts inspire future crimes. Postal workers committed so many mass shootings that work-related rage came to be referred to as \u201cgoing postal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first reference to this phrase dates back to <strong>1993<\/strong>, when <strong>Karl Vick<\/strong> used the expression in a <em>St. Petersburg Times<\/em> article:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe symposium was sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen so many outbursts that in some circles excessive stress is known as \u2018<strong>going postal<\/strong>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The expression lives on, but the string of mass shootings committed by postal workers has now largely been forgotten. \u201cGoing postal\u201d is no longer reserved just for USPS employees.<\/p>\n<p>While the expression most often refers to work-related mass shootings, you can use \u201cgoing postal\u201d to talk about any employee who has done, or might do, something violent at work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoing postal\u201d can even refer to acts of violence, in which someone \u201csimply snaps,\u201d outside of the workplace. It would be correct to say that you think a student \u201cmay go postal one day,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Going Postal<\/h2>\n<p>Are you looking for other ways to talk about a sudden burst of violence? Try these expressions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Run amok.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Raise hell.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Run riot.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Just snapped.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Go on a rampage.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Going Postal<\/h2>\n<p>There is no antonym for the phrase \u201cgoing postal.\u201d However, a \u201cmodel employee\u201d or \u201cstar worker\u201d would be the opposite of one that goes postal.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<p>The correct saying is \u201c<strong>going postal<\/strong>.\u201d This phrase is used to describe sudden violent impulses and acts, especially in a workplace context. \u201cGoing postal\u201d typically refers to mass shootings committed at work.<\/p>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Going Postal Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \u201cgoing postal\u201d originated with a series of mass shootings committed by postal workers.<\/p>\n<p>It would be incorrect to describe any angry employee as \u201cgoing postal.\u201d Only use this phrase to describe acts of violence or fears that such acts may take place.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Say Going Postal<\/h2>\n<p>You can say that angry (former employees) who committed mass shootings or other acts of terrible violence \u201cwent postal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You could also use this phrase to describe your fears that an employee or student may commit violence at work or school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you afraid that a sullen, disgruntled, coworker is about to do something violent? You could say that you\u2019re scared he is \u201cgoing postal.\u201d This post explores what the phrase means, where it comes from, and how to use it in a sentence. Meaning The American expression \u201cgoing postal\u201d means that someone is about to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10264,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10263\/revisions\/10264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}