eine Schraube locker haben

Meaning: To be slightly eccentric or mentally unbalanced.

Literally: To have a screw loose

Example: “Wer im November im See schwimmt, hat eine Schraube locker.” — Anyone who swims in the lake in November has a screw loose.

English equivalent: To have a screw loose

Equivalents in other languages

Danish: At have rotter på loftet Literally: To have rats in the attic
Finnish: Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa Literally: Not all the Moomins are in the valley
French: Avoir une araignée au plafond Literally: To have a spider on the ceiling
English: have a screw loose

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Origin: A machine with a loose screw rattles and stops working properly. Having a screw loose is being a little mad or eccentric; English says exactly the same. It belongs to the industrial age and has no particular story behind it.

More German idioms

im Sturm nehmen To achieve sudden and overwhelming success or popularity.
über den Jordan gehen To die.
kein unbeschriebenes Blatt sein To be a person whose background, reputation, or history is already known.
einen Vogel zeigen To tap one's forehead at someone, a rude gesture meaning "you're crazy."
die Hände in den Schoß legen To be idle or inactive; to do nothing while waiting or while problems accumulate.
etwas auf seine Kappe nehmen To accept blame or responsibility for something.

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Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.

See Actually means 'lake' (der See) or 'sea' (die See). To see is sehen.
Gift Actually means 'poison'. A present is ein Geschenk.
Handy Actually means 'a mobile phone'. For handy/useful, say praktisch.

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Equivalents in other languages

More idioms — The Absurd

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