Blow up
Blow up verb - To break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure.
Usage example: the building blew up because of a gas leak
Go off
Go off verb - To break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure.
Usage example: specialists were able to deactivate the bomb before it went off
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
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But they're not; both of the arrangements are just powder kegs ready to go off (and the Zygon deal did blow up albeit temporarily).
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That Dark Circle guy's face when he pushes the trigger for a bomb supposed to blow up a satellite but it fails to go off is classic.
Source: Oh Crap / Western Animation - The Germans hit the plunger to blow up the bridge just as the allied tanks are crossing it, only for them not to go off due to a malfunction or the lines being cut.
Source: Where's the Kaboom?
Cite this Source
Go off and Blow up. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/blow_up/go_off
Blow up & Go off. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/blow_up/go_off>.
Go off or Blow up. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/blow_up/go_off.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "blow up" and "go off" have occurred on timeline