Anonymous  +  298456 Tue, 28 Nov 06 12:33 PM Hi friends, here this: 'I looked this guy who had cerebral palsy and he was crying. Man, I almost LOST IT right then and there, almost broke down myself and cried .' Does it mean that " I almost lost the control of my temper" or something like this? Thanks in adavance,Jo. Anonymous

	Tidus  +  298563 Tue, 28 Nov 06 05:17 PM  Anonymous wrote: Hi friends, here this: 'I looked this guy who had cerebral palsy and he was crying. Man, I almost LOST IT right then and there, almost broke down myself and cried .' Does it mean that " I almost lost the control of my temper" or something like this? Thanks in adavance,Jo. In this context it means almost couldn't control emotions and nearly broke down and cried. The other usage of "lost it", as you say, is to lose one's temper.  Really it means a bit more than just losing ones temper though - it's more associated with going beserk. Tidus Joined on Mon, Nov 27 2006 England Full Member 372

	CalifJim  +  298586 Tue, 28 Nov 06 06:16 PM Strange sentence, in a way.  It actually defines "lost it" immediately after stating it, so it ends up saying the same thing twice. almost LOST IT right then and there, =  almost broke down myself and cried (to break down = to lose the ability to hold back tears, the emotions (of grief, shame, etc.) having become too powerful) CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,395 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Tidus  +  298651 Tue, 28 Nov 06 11:29 PM Ah, but this is typical English, CalifJim! I even remember from my Higher English exam, having to answer questions explaining the meaning of a phrase by using the words that followed it.  So this really quite a good example of that: "I nearly lost it right there and then, almost broke down and cried".  The question might well have been: What does the author mean by "lost it"?  Answer would be that it relates to the person's emotional state to the extent that they almost couldn't control their emotions, or that it was emotionally too much for them.  Something along those lines would be the correct answer. Tidus