Rattle someone's cage Verb + object/complement
To make someone feel angry or upset
You need to calm down. Who rattled your cage?
Peter is foaming at the mouth. I guess someone has rattled his cage.
My sister hid my cell phone and that's really rattling my cage.
To complain that something is unfair or illegal.
To feel devastated because of a minor problem or accident
To intentionally and spitefully insult or show disrespect for someone
Suddenly become crazy or very angry or lose control
The verb "rattle" should be conjugated according to its tense.
Literally, the phrase comes from the meaning is to disturb the animals in the cage. To be more specific, children or childish people usually rattle or shake the cage to get the attention from the animals in the cage while they are sleeping or looking the other way, which makes the animals feel annoyed, Nowadays, the idiom is also used with the meaning that if someone is rattled their cage by you, which means they do not like your presence.
Used to allude that the last force, problem or burden which is seemingly minor and small causes a person, system or organisation to collapse or fail
Her husband's violent act last night was the straw that broke the donkey's back and she left him