French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

another idea...

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

Idiomatic

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

Crise de folie ---> fit of madness (source : Termium).

Alors je vous propose "fit of hysteria" dont j'ai trouvé 560 occurrences dans Internet.

Voici quelques contextes :

"As a rule, a fit of hysteria occurs when other persons are present, and never comes on during sleep" ("Theory and Practice of Medicine," by Roberts, p. 401). (Source :

HYSTERICAL/HILARIOUS

People say of a bit of humor or a comical situation that it was “hysterical”—shorthand for “hysterically funny”— meaning “hilarious.” But when you speak of a man being “hysterical” it means he is having a fit of hysteria, and that may not be funny at all. (Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/hysterical.html)

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

:)

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

a US slang option

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Note added at 22 mins (2005-09-14 16:04:49 GMT)
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By Alfred Hummel (circa 1930)

But then again it helps with the beer he brought,
The quiet is all gone for now,
I think my wife is having a cow,
My brother and I are in the booze,
I know she’s wishing we would snooze,
At her expense we will laugh,
Tomorrow morning we’ll feel her wrath,
We may have had fun till November,
But she’s said NO, till the 32Nd of Octember.
It seems our party did not impress,
This is how she did express,
“If we should ever have another bomb,
We’ll be sleeping out on the lawn”.

Wolfgang Hummel April 2, 2001 1930

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Note added at 22 mins (2005-09-14 16:05:12 GMT)
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sorry not Alfred, Wolfgang that is

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Note added at 28 mins (2005-09-14 16:11:33 GMT)
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From The Urban Dictionary:

a COW (noun) meaning a fit or an outburst.

(I recall this word being used back about 1975. It was coined such because apparently some people, when they were getting upset, would make a somewhat long and gutteral sound that amazingly sounded like a cow mooing.he/she is having a cow, man !
Source: Wadsy, Feb 25, 2005

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

Another option! :)

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Note added at 1 hr 1 min (2005-09-14 16:44:11 GMT)
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I just saw your translation is for the UK...not sure if this would be approriate then, sorry!

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

the British just don't get hysterical ! So I hesitate to use the term in this context

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

this is how I would say it, anyway.
In French, "crise d'hystérie" is so commonly used, the words are not slang as such but the expression is more or less used as a colloquial one.
However, if you really want to keep it to the medical/psychological vocabulary, there are some very good proposals above :)

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

If you wish to maintain the transitive sense and make sure that 'fit' or 'hysterics' is not misinterpreted.
Also: "into a fit of anger", "into a fit of rage".

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

Another take for UK English. I would avoid using 'hysterics' for the reasons others have mentioned.

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

coucou Sandra

French term (edited): crise d'hyst�rie

an option