30 Idioms for Crazy People, Days & Decisions

Have you ever felt an emotion so big, so wild, or so chaotic that simple words just don’t cut it? This is where the power of idioms shines. Idioms are the vibrant, colorful phrases in a language where the meaning isn’t literal but is understood through shared culture and context. They are the shortcuts our minds use to paint a picture, turning a plain statement into a memorable and impactful expression.

Exploring idioms for being “crazy” whether it means being wonderfully eccentric, furiously angry, or simply overwhelmed helps us articulate the messy, unpredictable parts of life. These phrases don’t just give us words for our feelings; they inspire deeper thinking, bringing clarity and even humor to complex human experiences and connecting us through shared understanding. Obsession and craziness often overlap in language. If you’re describing extreme behavior or habits, our list of idioms for addiction offers powerful, relatable phrases.

Table of Contents

Idioms for Crazy

Here are 30 popular and interesting idioms used to describe someone or something as crazy, eccentric, wild, or out of control.

Eccentric & Unconventional

1. A few screws loose

Meaning: To be slightly strange, eccentric, or mentally unbalanced.
Use in a sentence: You’d have to have a few screws loose to go swimming in that icy water.
Other ways to say it: Not all there, a bit odd, eccentric.

2. Mad as a hatter

Meaning: To be completely crazy or eccentric. (This saying comes from the 19th century when hat makers used mercury, which caused neurological damage).
Use in a sentence: He talks to his plants and wears a teapot for a hat—he’s mad as a hatter.
Other ways to say it: Barking mad, bonkers, off one’s rocker.

3. Not playing with a full deck

Meaning: A way of saying someone is not mentally sound or is lacking intelligence.
Use in a sentence: The way he keeps investing in failing companies makes me think he’s not playing with a full deck.
Other ways to say it: The lights are on but nobody’s home, a few cards short of a deck.

4. Off one’s rocker

Meaning: To be crazy, insane, or acting in a very strange way.
Use in a sentence: You want to quit your job and join the circus? You must be off your rocker!
Other ways to say it: Out of one’s mind, bonkers, nutty as a fruitcake.

5. Nutty as a fruitcake

Meaning: To be very eccentric or crazy.
Use in a sentence: My aunt is nutty as a fruitcake, but she’s the most interesting person I know.
Other ways to say it: Mad as a hatter, bonkers, wacky.

6. Crazier than a road lizard

Meaning: An American Southern saying for someone who is acting very erratically or wildly.
Use in a sentence: He was running around the yard in his underwear, crazier than a road lizard.
Other ways to say it: Wild, out of control, acting erratically.

7. One sandwich short of a picnic

Meaning: A humorous way to say someone is not very intelligent or is slightly crazy.
Use in a sentence: He’s a nice guy, but sometimes he seems one sandwich short of a picnic.
Other ways to say it: Not the sharpest tool in the shed, a few screws loose.

8. Have bats in the belfry

Meaning: To be eccentric or crazy. The “belfry” (bell tower) is a metaphor for one’s head.
Use in a sentence: Anyone who thinks they can communicate with aliens must have bats in the belfry.
Other ways to say it: To have lost one’s marbles, off one’s rocker.

Wild, Angry, or Overwhelmed

9. Go ballistic

Meaning: To become extremely angry, furious, and irrational.
Use in a sentence: My dad will go ballistic if he sees the scratch on his car.
Other ways to say it: Fly off the handle, hit the roof, lose one’s temper.

10. Drive someone up the wall

Meaning: To make someone extremely annoyed, irritated, or angry.
Use in a sentence: The constant noise from the construction site is driving me up the wall.
Other ways to say it: Get on someone’s nerves, drive someone crazy/nuts.

11. A bull in a china shop

Meaning: A person who is very clumsy or reckless in a delicate situation.
Use in a sentence: He was like a bull in a china shop during the negotiations, offending everyone.
Other ways to say it: Clumsy, reckless, tactless.

12. Run around like a chicken with its head cut off

Meaning: To act in a frantic, disorganized, or panicked way.
Use in a sentence: On the morning of the wedding, she was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Other ways to say it: In a panic, frantic, disorganized.

13. Stir-crazy

Meaning: To become restless, agitated, or anxious from being confined in one place for too long.
Use in a sentence: After being stuck indoors for a week during the blizzard, we were all going a little stir-crazy.
Other ways to say it: Cabin fever, restless, antsy.

14. Lose one’s marbles

Meaning: To go insane or crazy; to lose one’s mind.
Use in a sentence: I feel like I’m going to lose my marbles if I have to listen to that song one more time.
Other ways to say it: Go mad, lose it, go off the deep end.

15. Go off the deep end

Meaning: To suddenly become very angry or emotional, or to start behaving in a crazy way.
Use in a sentence: When he heard the news, he completely went off the deep end.
Other ways to say it: Freak out, lose control, go ballistic.

16. Foaming at the mouth

Meaning: To be uncontrollably angry, like a rabid animal.
Use in a sentence: The coach was foaming at the mouth over the referee’s terrible call.
Other ways to say it: Livid, furious, enraged.

17. At one’s wit’s end

Meaning: To be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you don’t know what to do next.
Use in a sentence: I’m at my wit’s end trying to figure out how to solve this computer problem.
Other ways to say it: Overwhelmed, at the end of one’s rope, exasperated.

General “Crazy” & Insane Expressions

18. Barking mad

Meaning: A very informal British English expression for completely and obviously crazy.
Use in a sentence: You want to climb that mountain in a storm? You must be barking mad!
Other ways to say it: Stark raving mad, bonkers, off your rocker.

19. Off the wall

Meaning: Very strange, eccentric, or unconventional.
Use in a sentence: Her sense of humor is a bit off the wall, but I find it hilarious.
Other ways to say it: Bizarre, weird, unconventional.

20. Out to lunch

Meaning: Not paying attention; behaving strangely or not being in touch with reality.
Use in a sentence: I tried to explain the plan to him, but he was completely out to lunch.
Other ways to say it: Spaced out, not all there, in a daze.

21. Around the bend

Meaning: Crazy or insane.
Use in a sentence: All this stress and no sleep are enough to drive anyone around the bend.
Other ways to say it: Go crazy, go mad, lose one’s mind.

22. Stark raving mad

Meaning: Completely and utterly insane.
Use in a sentence: He was shouting at pigeons in the park; I think he’s gone starkly raving mad.
Other ways to say it: Barking mad, completely insane, bonkers.

23. Take leave of one’s senses

Meaning: To start behaving in a crazy or foolish way.
Use in a sentence: Have you taken leave of your senses? You can’t spend your entire savings on a single vacation!
Other ways to say it: To have lost one’s mind, to act irrationally.

24. Not have all one’s buttons

Meaning: A gentle or humorous way of saying someone is a bit eccentric or not mentally sound.
Use in a sentence: He’s a brilliant scientist, but he doesn’t have all any buttons.
Other ways to say it: A few screws loose, not all there.

25. Go haywire

Meaning: To stop working correctly or to start behaving erratically; to go crazy.
Use in a sentence: My computer went haywire and started deleting all my files.
Other ways to say it: Go berserk, malfunction, go on the fritz.

26. Fly in the face of

Meaning: To do something that is a direct and open challenge to what is usual or expected.
Use in a sentence: Building a skyscraper in that historic neighborhood would fly in the face of common sense.
Other ways to say it: Defy, go against, challenge.

27. A wild-goose chase

Meaning: A foolish and hopeless search for something unattainable.
Use in a sentence: The treasure map was a fake and sent us on a wild-goose chase.
Other ways to say it: A fool’s errand, a pointless pursuit.

28. Like herding cats

Meaning: Used to describe a task that is extremely challenging, if not impossible, to do because it involves managing a chaotic or unruly group.
Use in a sentence: Trying to get all the toddlers to pose for a group photo was like herding cats.
Other ways to say it: An impossible task, chaotic, unmanageable.

29. A can of worms

Meaning: A situation that, once investigated or interfered with, becomes much more complicated and troublesome.
Use in a sentence: Asking about the company’s finances opened up a whole new can of worms.
Other ways to say it: A Pandora’s box, a complex problem, a troublesome situation.

30. The lights are on, but nobody’s home

Meaning: A humorous expression for someone who is vacant, unintelligent, or not paying attention.
Use in a sentence: He just stared at me with a blank expression. I think the lights are on, but nobody’s home.
Other ways to say it: Not all there, out to lunch, vacantly.

10 More Slang Terms & Phrases for “Crazy”

Bonkers: Completely crazy or silly.
Go nuts/Go bananas: To become very excited, angry, or crazy.
Wacko / Wackadoo: A person who is eccentric or crazy.
Off the chain / Off the hook: Wild, excellent, or out of control in a good way.
Loony: Crazy or silly.
Unhinged: Mentally unbalanced or deranged.
Out of one’s mind: To be irrational or crazy.
Hit the roof: To become extremely angry.
Freak out: To become very anxious, scared, or excited.
Maniac: A person exhibiting extreme, wild, or violent behavior.

Fill in the Blank Exercise

Instructions: Complete each sentence with the most appropriate idiom from the list above.

If my boss adds one more project to my workload, I think I’m going to _______________.
You must be _______________ to think you can finish a marathon with no training.
The toddler was _______________ in the toy store, grabbing everything off the shelves.
After being cooped up inside for three rainy days, the kids started to go _______________.
He’s a nice person, but he definitely has _______________ in the belfry.
My dad is going to _______________ when he finds out I dented his brand-new car.
Trying to organize the volunteers for the festival was like _______________.
I’m _______________ trying to get this baby to sleep through the night.
Her fashion sense is a little _______________, but she always looks confident.
The old man down the street who yells at clouds is considered _______________ by the neighborhood kids.
The printer suddenly _______________ and started printing pages of nonsense.
I tried to explain the problem, but he was completely _______________ and didn’t hear a word I said.
That politician’s decision to ignore the experts seems to _______________ of logic.
He’s a kind man, but everyone agrees he’s _______________ short of a picnic.
When the referee made the bad call, the coach was practically _______________ on the sidelines.

Answer Key

i lose my marbles
barking mad
a bull in a china shop
stir-crazy
bats
go ballistic
herding cats
at my wit’s end
off the wall
mad as a hatter
went haywire
out to lunch
fly in the face
one sandwich
foaming at the mouth

Conclusion:

Mastering idioms is more than just a linguistic exercise; it’s a journey into the heart of a culture and a powerful way to enhance emotional intelligence. When we use a phrase like “at one’s wit’s end,” we’re not just saying we’re frustrated we’re tapping into a shared human experience of feeling completely overwhelmed.

Regularly incorporating these expressions into our writing and speech makes our communication more vibrant, relatable, and nuanced. It challenges us to think metaphorically and to understand the subtle shades of meaning in human interaction. By practicing and internalizing idioms, we build richer vocabulary and deeper empathy for the complex, often crazy, but ultimately beautiful tapestry of life.