crazy

crazy like a fox

Very clever, cunning, or shrewd while appearing foolish or mad. People thought I was crazy when I told them my idea for massive social networking site—crazy like a fox, more like it! Our boss is crazy like a fox; her daredevil schemes always sound like they'll bankrupt us, but they invariably bring in a huge profit.

batshit crazy

rude slang Unreasonably or uncontrollably wild, irrational, or insane. At first I liked his manic energy, but after a few dates I've come realize that he's just batshit crazy!

go batshit crazy

1. rude slang To become uncontrollably or intensely irrational; to act in a wildly irrational manner. The drivers in this country seem to go completely batshit crazy if there's even a little bit of snow on the ground. If they get too much sugar, the kids start going batshit crazy and start running around the house screaming.

2. rude slang To become wildly or uncontrollably angry. My parents went totally batshit crazy when they found out I'd wrecked the car! Now, don't go batshit crazy or anything, but I've decided to move to Canada.

3. rude slang To become extremely excited or enthusiastic (about something). I've never understood that pop star's popularity, but kids just go batshit crazy for her music.

go stir-crazy

To become acutely anxious, restless, irritable, irrational, and/or depressed from remaining for too long in an unstimulating, confined, and/or isolated environment. "Stir" in this usage is a slang word for prison. We thought taking our family vacation in a tiny cottage out in the country would be a nice break from city life, but we all went a bit stir-crazy after a few days. The doctor said I need to remain in bed as much as possible, but I'll go stir-crazy if I can't get out of the house at least once a day!

crazy as a loon

Insane. Often used jocularly. Don't leave me alone with Uncle Stu, he's crazy as a loon!

crazy about someone or something

and mad about someone or something; nuts about someone or something; crazy for someone or something

Fig. very fond of someone or something. Ann is crazy about John. He's crazy about her, too. I'm mad about their new song.

See also: crazy

*crazy as a betsy bug

and *crazy as a peach-orchard boar; *crazy as a loon

Rur. acting as if insane. (*Also: as ~.) Tom: Susan says she's really the Queen of England. Bill: She's crazy as a betsy bug. Jill: David's a little eccentric, isn't he? Jane: Crazy as a loon, I'd say. What's wrong with Jim? He's acting as crazy as a peach-orchard boar.

crazy in the head

stupid or insane. Be quiet, Jed. You are just crazy in the head. Am I crazy in the head, or did I just see someone walking a leopard on a leash?

drive someone crazy

and drive someone insane; drive someone mad

1. . Lit. to force someone into a state of insanity or mental instability. The sound of the wind howling drove me crazy. The dog's constant barking drove me insane.

2. Fig. to annoy or irritate someone. This itch is driving me crazy. All these telephone calls are driving me mad.

funny bone

and crazy bone

a spot near the elbow bone that is very sensitive to the touch. Ouch, I hit my funny bone. Effie bumped her crazy bone and made a horrendous face.

go crazy

and go nuts

to become crazy, disoriented, or frustrated. It is so busy here that I think I will go crazy. Bob went nuts because his car got a flat tire.

See also: crazy

like crazy

and like mad

Fig. furiously; very much, fast, many, or actively. People are coming in here like crazy. There isn't enough room for them all. We sold ice cream like crazy. It was a very hot day.

See also: crazy, like

*stir-crazy

crazy from being confined. (*Typically: be ~; become ~; go ~; get ~; make someone ~. stir is a slang word for prison.) I am going to go stir-crazy if I don't get out of this office.

crazy about somebody/something

to like or love someone or something very much mad about somebody/something He was my first love, and I was crazy about him.

Usage notes: often used in the negative form not crazy about to express a lack of enthusiasm about someone or something: I'm really not crazy about TV, but I occasionally watch a ballgame.

See also: crazy

like crazy

1. a lot like mad She itched like crazy.

2. very quickly like mad The cucumbers here grow like crazy.

See also: crazy, like

drive you crazy

also drive you nuts

to make you upset Until you get used to a new computer, the software will drive you crazy. Because I am not a patient person, I am quite sure that editing a dictionary would just drive me nuts!

Usage notes: also used in the form drive you mad

be as [crazy/rich etc.] as they come

to be very rich, crazy etc. Jenny's as crazy as they come.

like crazy

(informal)

if you do something like crazy, you do it a lot or very quickly We'll have to work like crazy to finish the decorating by the weekend.

See also: crazy, like

stir-crazy

(mainly American informal)

upset and nervous because you have been in one place for too long

Usage notes: Stir is a word used in American English for a prison.

It's no wonder she's going stir-crazy, shut in that tiny house all day with three young children.

crazy about, be

Also, be mad about. Be immoderately fond of or infatuated with, as in I'm crazy about lobster, or George is mad about his new saxophone. The first expression dates from the early 1900s. The second, with mad, is much older; Shakespeare had it as mad for in All's Well That Ends Well (5:3): "madde for her"; and mad about was common by the mid-1700s.

See also: crazy

crazy like a fox

Seemingly foolish but actually very shrewd and cunning. For example, You think Bob was crazy to turn it down? He's crazy like a fox, because they've now doubled their offer . This usage gained currency when humorist S.J. Perelman used it as the title of a book (1944). [Early 1900s] .

drive someone crazy

Also, drive someone mad or bananas or bonkers or nuts or up the wall ; drive someone to drink. Greatly exasperate someone, annoy to distraction. For example, His habitual lateness drives me crazy, or Apologizing over and over drives me bananas, or These slovenly workmen drive me up the wall, or Your nagging is driving me to drink. All of these hyperbolic expressions describe a person's extreme frustration, supposedly to the point of insanity ( crazy, mad, nuts, bonkers, and bananas all mean "insane"); up the wall alludes to climbing the walls to escape and to drink to imbibing alcohol to induce oblivion.

funny bone

1. A point on the elbow where the ulnar nerve runs close to the surface and produces a sharp tingling sensation when knocked against the bone. For example, Ouch! I just banged my funny bone. The expression is a pun on humerus (pronounced the same as humorous), the Latin name for the long bone of the arm. [Early 1800s]

2. A sense of humor, as in That comedian really tickles my funny bone. This expression is derived from def. 1.

like crazy

Also, like mad; like nobody's business. With exceeding enthusiasm or speed, without restraint. For example, We shopped like crazy and bought all our furniture in one day, or Once he's out of the town limits he drives like mad, or The choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus like nobody's business. The first terms employ crazy and mad in the sense of "lunatic" as a hyperbole for lack of restraint; the third implies that no business could be conducted in such an extraordinary fashion. The first and third date from the 1920s, the second from the mid-1600s.

See also: crazy, like

crazy

1. n. a crazy person. The guy’s a crazy, and he keeps coming in here asking for money.

2. mod. cool. This stuff is really crazy, man. I love it!

crazy bone

n. the elbow. Ouch! I hit my crazy bone!

like crazy

and like mad

mod. furiously; very much, fast, many, or actively. Look at those people on the bank. They’re catching fish like mad! I’m running like mad and still can’t catch up.

See also: crazy, like

stir crazy

mod. anxious and mentally disturbed from being confined, as in prison. (see also stir.) I was going stir crazy in my little room, so I moved to a bigger place.

like crazy

Informal

To an exceeding degree: They were running around like crazy.

See also: crazy, like

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Sime	-	Macedonian
Mohammad	-	Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali
Daquan	-	African American (Modern)
Gamaliel	gə-MAY-lee-əl (English)	Biblical
Bakehouse	['beikhaus]
Kir	KEER	Russian