Deliverance

STAMP OUT THAT PHRASE The Dictionary of American Slang defines "to go postal" as "to succumb to tension and fatigue; lose it, stress out." Sound harmless? Not to the U.S. Postal Service, which is doing its best to send the phrase packing. A history:

1993 First known publication, in the St. Petersburg Times

1994 Appears in the magazine Wired

1995 In the movie Clueless, Cher Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone, frets, "I had an overwhelming sense of ickiness...like Josh thinking I was mean was making me postal." Enters common usage.

1998 Postmaster General William J. Henderson charges a commission to find ways to make post offices safe for workers

AUG. 31, 2000 The commission, in a 249-page report it calls "groundbreaking," concludes, "'Going postal' is a myth: postal workers are no more likely to physically assault, sexually harass or verbally abuse their coworkers than employees in the national work force..." and says retail workers are more in jeopardy.

SEPT. 1, 2000 Post office breaks out spiffy, very sane-looking new uniforms for its window clerks.