stark
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(stark) raving bonkers
Totally crazy or eccentric; filled with an excessive amount of emotion, especially anger or excitement. I know you'll probably think me raving bonkers, but I sold all my possessions and am moving to a small village in China. The announcement drove fans stark raving bonkers, as it will be the first new album the band has released in over 10 years. The boss is stark raving bonkers after I bungled the expense reports.
(stark) raving mad
Totally crazy or eccentric; filled with an excessive amount of emotion, especially anger or excitement. I know you'll probably think I'm raving mad, but I sold all my possessions and am moving to a small village in China. The announcement drove fans stark raving mad, as it will be the first new album the band has released in over 10 years. The boss is stark raving mad after I bungled the expense reports.
be stark raving mad
To be totally crazy. Don't listen to a word he says, he's stark raving mad! You're stark raving mad if you think that plan will work. I know some of my students think I'm stark raving mad because of my weird methods.
stark naked
Completely naked. I keep having the dream where I walk into my classroom and realize I've forgotten my homework—and that I'm stark naked! We've all come into this world the hard way—stark naked and screaming!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
stark raving mad
Cliché totally insane; completely crazy; out of control. (Often an exaggeration.) When she heard about what happened at the office, she went stark raving mad. You must be start raving mad if you think I would trust you with my car!
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
stark raving mad
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stark ˈnaked
(British English) (American English buck ˈnaked) completely naked: He always walks around his apartment buck naked.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
stark raving mad
Insane. Literally this term means “completely, wildly crazy,” a graphic description of manic behavior. Versions of it have appeared since the sixteenth century, including Jonathan Swift’s, “There’s difference between staring and stark mad” (Polite Conversation, 1738). More recently, Robert Barnard piled up colloquial synonyms: “‘Mad as a hatter,’ said Gillian Soames complacently. ‘Stark raving bonkers. Up the wall. Round the twist.’” (Death and the Chaste Apprentice, 1989).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer