Mad as a hatter
Meaning: Completely eccentric or unhinged.
Language: English
Literally: As mad as a hat-maker
Category: Daily Life
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 — Daily Life
- To steal someone's thunder — To take credit for another's idea or upstage their big moment.
- Die Kirche im Dorf lassen — To keep things in proportion and not get carried away.
- Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof — Life is not all fun and games; expect hardship.
- Estar de Rodríguez — To be a husband left working in town while the family is on holiday.
- Ogni morte di papa — Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon.
- 油を売る — To slack off or dawdle when you should be working.
More English idioms
- 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.
- To chew the fat — To chat idly and at length.
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