Mad as a hatter
Meaning: Completely eccentric or unhinged.
Language: English
Literally: As mad as a hat-maker
Category: The Absurd
Origin: 18th–19th-century hat-makers cured felt with mercury and suffered poisoning — tremors, slurred speech, erratic moods; the phrase predates Lewis Carroll's Hatter.
More idioms — The Absurd
- No hay tu tía — There's no way around it; nothing can be done.
- Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto — To be unable to see what is right in front of you.
- Viajar na maionese — To talk nonsense or drift off into your own dream world.
- Skägget i brevlådan — Caught red-handed in an awkward, embarrassing position.
- يعمل من الحبة قبة (Ya'mal min al-ḥabba qubba) — To blow something tiny completely out of proportion.
- Helt texas — Utterly wild, chaotic or out of control.
More English idioms
- To steal someone's thunder — To take credit for another's idea or upstage their big moment.
- To turn a blind eye — To deliberately ignore something you know is wrong.
- Hair of the dog — A morning drink taken to cure a hangover.
- To bite the bullet — To face something painful with gritted courage.
- To go cold turkey — To quit a habit abruptly and completely.
- To cut the mustard — To meet the required standard; to succeed.
From our untranslatable words
- Flemme — A total absence of motivation to do anything — a profound, almost existential reluctance…
- Spleen — A deep, existential ennui — a heavy, formless sadness and disgust with the world and ones…
- Épanouissement — The full flourishing of a person — blooming into your most complete, radiant self. More t…