A crazy or eccentric person, or a baseball pitch that curves unexpectedly in an unusual way.
Originally a baseball term from the early 1900s, referring to an erratic pitch that breaks sharply. By the 1930s-40s, it was applied to wild, unpredictable people, popularized by 'screwball comedy' films featuring eccentric characters and absurd plots.
Screwball comedy was Hollywood's brilliant response to the Great Depression—audiences wanted escapist chaos and witty characters who defied social norms, so films became deliberately illogical and zany. The genre accidentally created some of cinema's most intelligent comedies by embracing absurdity.
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