drive someone to distraction
drive (one) to distraction
1. To render one unable to focus; to distract one. Leave your sister alone—she's got to finish her homework, and you are driving her to distraction.
2. To annoy or frustrate one to the point of exasperation. A week on vacation with my relatives is enough to drive me to distraction. That loud beeping noise is driving me to distraction!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
drive someone to distraction
If something or someone drives you to distraction, they annoy you very much. Nothing I said or did would get them to tidy up. It drove me to distraction. His obsessive attention to detail drove to distraction the artists and workers with whom he collaborated. Note: Distraction is an old word for madness.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012