stark raving mad

1. Totally crazy, as in The constant uncertainty over his job is making him stark raving mad. This term, meaning “completely wildly insane,” is used both hyperbolically and literally. Versions of this expression appear to have sprung from the minds of great literary figures. Stark mad was first recorded by poet John Skelton in 1489; stark raving was first recorded by playwright John Beaumont in 1648; stark staring mad was first used by John Dryden in 1693. The current wording, stark raving mad, first appeared in Henry Fielding's The Intriguing Chambermaid in 1734.

Example Sentences

One foreign diplomat texted The Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor: “This man is stark, raving mad. Do Americans not see how embarrassing this is?”

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He looked at me as if I was stark raving mad.

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But I went absolutely, stark raving mad.

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"But I think the Conservative Party would look absolutely stark, raving mad if it had another PM. I think it would just entrench the brand problems that are all there."

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Putin looks — how to put this nicely? — completely bonkers, or what the British call “starkers,” short for stark raving mad.

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