mad as a hatter

Idioms  

1. Also, mad as a March hare. Crazy, demented, as in She is throwing out all his clothes; she's mad as a hatter. This expression, dating from the early 1800s, alludes to exposure to the chemicals formerly used in making felt hats, which caused tremors and other nervous symptoms. The variant, dating from the 14th century, alludes to the crazy behavior of hares during rutting season, mistakenly thought to be only in March.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mad as a hatter

It doesn’t take long for Onion to realize that Brown, for all his noble ambitions of emancipation, is as mad as a hatter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2021

Simply mad as a hatter how brief the wait was for this glow-in-the-dark classic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2021

During various episodes in his life, Lowell was as mad as a hatter, but in poems like these he went crazy for a purpose.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2020

Because part of the illusion we were creating was that he was mad as a hatter.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 28, 2014

Mr. Leroy was spitting and looking mad as a hatter.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Related Words

• insane
• kooky
• mad
• nuts
• nutty
• silly
• wacky