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Idioms for Insanity

Fill the blanks in these idioms that mean "crazy".
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 30, 2013
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First submittedAugust 6, 2013
Times taken37,435
Average score72.2%
Rating4.00
3:00
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Idiom
Has a screw loose
Has bats in the belfry
Around the bend
Touched in the head
Lost one's marbles
Not playing with a full deck
Idiom
One beer short of a six pack
Howling at the moon
Basket case
Off one's rocker
Stark raving mad
Took leave of one's senses
Idiom
Mad as a hatter
Cuckoo for Coco Puffs
The elevator doesn't reach the top floor
The lights are on, but nobody's home
Off the deep end
Nutty as a fruit cake
+6
Level 65
Sep 24, 2013
He's one sandwich short of a picnic.
+1
Level 48
Jan 13, 2017
+1
+2
Level 75
Nov 5, 2018
I always heard it as "One ant short of a picnic."
+2
Level 65
May 15, 2019
Hey young BlackLab
+1
Level 78
Jan 12, 2022
Did you just get here in a DeLorean?
+2
Level 58
Oct 29, 2013
Never heard of the Coco Puffs one. Never heard of Coco Puffs! Got the rest though.
+2
Level 54
Jul 2, 2014
American breakfast cereal. It's been a slogan for 50 years.
+4
Level 66
Jan 13, 2017
Tried 'Crazy for Coco Puffs' and 'Loco for Coco Puffs', both of which sound way better than the actual answer, which I'd never heard of.
+1
Level 65
Jun 1, 2023
I think the mascot is a Cuckoo bird.

Like a Cuckoo Clock, which is madness!

If you people are young, know that being mentally flexible is the way to not get stuck while problem solving or taking standardized tests.

I also work like demons are breathing down my neck, but I have high blood pressure.

+1
Level 57
Jan 29, 2024
It actually has a nice rhythm to it.

Cuckoo is pronounced "coo-coo", so it's "coo-coo for co-co puffs."

+1
Level 66
Nov 5, 2018
The cereal's mascot is a cartoon cuckoo bird, hence the slogan. It doesn't make any more or less sense than a tiger selling frosted flakes, a toucan selling Froot Loops, or a pirate selling whatever Cap'n Crunch is supposed to be.
+2
Level 72
Jan 15, 2017
Never heard th Coco Puffs one either though, I have heard of the cereal.

Heard Attic and Loft used in place of Belfry

+2
Level 65
Mar 22, 2019
Yea tried attic (thrn head, brain, mind..) i have no clue what a belfry is haha (non-english speaker, i guess it is where they fry bells ;))
+9
Level 82
Oct 29, 2013
Got 100%, though I think some of these mean that a person is dim-witted or stupid, not insane.
+1
Level 42
Oct 29, 2013
Good point.
+1
Level 76
Jan 13, 2017
Spot on, kal.
+2
Level 82
Mar 21, 2019
You could fix it with a title change: Idioms for Mentally Impaired
+1
Level 67
Apr 15, 2023
Exactly, just what I was going to say. I guess I was a little slow to get there...
+1
Level 31
Oct 29, 2013
Can you accept lift for elevator? I damn near missed that one until I remembered most american things on here don't have british alternatives as acceptable answers >_
+1
Level ∞
Oct 30, 2013
Okay, "lift" will work now.
+1
Level 67
Jul 21, 2019
I said staircase, not too far off in my opinion.
+3
Level 13
Oct 29, 2013
funny how "nut" works for off one's rocker
+3
Level 55
Nov 1, 2013
Although some of these are references to insanity, some are comments on intelligence, such as "the lights are on but nobody's home".
+1
Level 74
Apr 12, 2016
Agreed.
+1
Level 36
Feb 13, 2015
loved this! Reminds me of the 60s. Those were used daily then.
+1
Level 71
Nov 7, 2015
Good quiz, but I think 'Off the deep end' is not so much meaning insanity as 'Angry'.
+1
Level 56
Jun 15, 2016
Definitely, at least here in the UK.
+1
Level 21
Sep 9, 2018
I've heard it used for both :)
+1
Level 44
Nov 5, 2018
Agreed, I’m a Brit and I’ve only ever heard that used over here to mean angry. For insanity, ‘away with the show folk’ is my personal favourite :P
+1
Level 60
Nov 5, 2018
I've never heard 'away with the show folk' but do like 'away with the fairies'
+1
Level 68
Jan 2, 2017
Can we except nuts or bolts for has a screw loose. I tried both twice.
+3
Level 63
Jan 13, 2017
In German there's this idiom: Doesn't have all the cups in the cupboard.
+1
Level 71
Jan 13, 2017
Basket-case is not really representing insanity. The term comes from the mobile beds made out of cane like a pram with two large wheels (like bike wheels) that were used for injured and wounded patients or soldiers. Being brought back to UK by ship in the olden days soldier patients were rated as 'Walking wounded' or 'Basket Cases).
+1
Level 44
Nov 5, 2018
I wonder if it came to mean insanity from some of them having shell shock as well as physical injuries??
+1
Level 66
Nov 5, 2018
That may be where the expression originated, but "basket case" as a term referring to insanity has been in use for several decades at least. One of Green Day's big hits from the mid-90's was all about it.
+1
Level 66
Jan 13, 2017
Done with 2:18 left. Not sure if I've heard or dealt more of these...
+1
Level 57
Jan 13, 2017
Great timing for re-posting! We'll be needing all of these in next 4 years!!
+1
Level 51
Jan 14, 2017
Round the 'at rack. (Derbyshire)
+1
Level 73
Jan 14, 2017
Listen to Queen's "I'm going slightly mad": lots of new ideas!
+3
Level 74
Jan 17, 2017
See, in the southern U.S., there are lots of... shall we say, colorful ways to say someone is insane or dumb or slow-witted. (Yes, I'm aware this wasn't an exhaustive list. This comment is just meant for entertainment.) - crazy as a dog in a hubcap factory - crazy as a hungry baby in a topless bar - half a bubble off plumb - nuttier than squirrel s*** - his roof ain't nailed tight - ain't got but one oar in the water - dumber than a sack of hammers (or blonde hair).
+2
Level 75
Nov 5, 2018
Country girl here, and I like "Crazier 'n a bessie bug," or "He'd make good squirrel bait." I've also heard, "Crazy as a loon." But my favorite is, "He can't tell if he found a rope or lost a horse."
+1
Level 67
Apr 15, 2023
I can imagine Michael Scott saying these when he's trying to impress Jo from Sabre.
+2
Level 78
Jan 24, 2017
I tried a bad word for "touched in the ___". I guess this quiz wasn't made by a certain president.
+1
Level 67
Apr 15, 2023
"They let you do anything."
+3
Level 65
Aug 4, 2017
One's cheese has slipped off one's cracker.
+3
Level 59
Apr 20, 2018
This quiz feels like it was made for me...
+1
Level 82
Jun 28, 2018
This test was so easy--my therapist has been calling me all these things for years.
+2
Level 37
Jun 28, 2018
Fun quiz. Missed a few, but the comments are even more hilarious!
+1
Level 44
Nov 5, 2018
Most people know these expressions anyway with or without a quiz. It doesn’t promote their usage, it just lists them. Like several other quizzes on here do with ‘pissed’ for drunk and/or angry; not the politest word either, but there’s nothing instructing us to go and use it. Many of these are often used in a joking context too, rather than them being intended as insults, whereas racial slurs are ALWAYS intended to be humiliating. That difference makes this quiz OK I’d say. But feel free to disagree; I like Jetpunk as there’s lots of room for debate. Anti :)
+1
Level 65
Mar 22, 2019
Where there cimments with complaints then? If so they were deleted
+1
Level 30
Nov 5, 2018
Lose it? It means go crazy... nuts... insane... bonzo... no longer in possession of ones faculties... three fries short of a Happy Meal... WACKO!
+1
Level 41
Nov 5, 2018
I have a friend who says a few French fries short of a happy meal.
+1
Level 65
Mar 22, 2019
I think there are millions, well dozens to be more literal, of versions that have the construct: ....... short of a .......
+1
Level 37
Jun 6, 2019
"Space Cadet".
+2
Level 79
Aug 20, 2019
The six-pack idiom gets regular use in Australia but common usage refers to one stubby or one can (rather than one beer). Could you please accept these as alternatives?
+1
Level 67
Apr 15, 2023
As a kiwi I thought 'can', rather than 'beer'.
+2
Level 49
Sep 29, 2020
He's one symbol short of a weather map
+1
Level 67
Apr 15, 2023
Programming idioms I invented:

He's a semicolon short of a colon.

He's one bit short of a byte.

He's one short short of a long.

His functions all return null.