Nutty

/ˈnʌti/ adjective

Definition

Crazy or silly in a humorous way, or tasting like nuts; can also mean obsessed with something.

Etymology

From English 'nut' plus suffix '-y' to mean 'resembling or containing nuts.' The slang meaning 'crazy' developed in the late 1800s, possibly because 'nuts' were associated with things that were hard, brittle, and unpredictable.

Kelly Says

The idea that 'crazy' and 'nuts' are synonyms is so old that we've forgotten it ever made sense—but it probably started because people saw nuts as hard, indigestible objects that could make you sick if you weren't careful, so going 'nutty' meant something went wrong in your thinking.

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