Mad as a hatter

Mad as a hatter

"Mad as a hatter" is a colloquial phrase used in conversation to refer to a crazy person. In 18th and 19th century England mercury was used in the production of felt, which was used in the manufacturing of hats common of the time. People who worked in these hat factories were exposed daily to trace amounts of the metal, which accumulated within their bodies over time, causing some workers to develop dementia caused by mercury poisoning. Thus the phrase "Mad as a Hatter" became popular as a way to refer to someone who was perceived as insane.

Contents

Etymology

While the origin of the saying is unknown, it may derive from:

  • Mercury poisoning - Absorption of mercury through the skin can cause Korsakoff's syndrome.[1]
  • An incidence of nominalization of the verb hatter, which means "To harass; to weary; to wear out with fatigue." according to Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755. In the text he cites a passage from the work of John Dryden as an example of usage: "He's hatter'd out with pennance."[2]
  • Roger Crab, a 17th century eccentric who, after working for a short time as a hatter, gave all his goods to the poor and lived on leaves and grass.[1]
  • An adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon word atter meaning poison, closely related to the word adder for the poisonous Crossed Viper. Lexicographers William and Mary Morris in Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (1977) favour this derivation because "mad as a hatter" was known before hat making was a recognized trade.[1] According to A Dictionary of Common Fallacies (1980), "'mad' meant 'venomous' and 'hatter' is a corruption of 'adder', or viper, so that the phrase 'mad as an atter' originally meant 'as venomous as a viper'."[3]

Early uses

In a section of the January-June 1829 issue of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, headed Noctes Ambrocianæ. No. XL1V, there is a conversation between a group of fictional characters:

NORTH: Many years - I was Sultan of Bello for a long period, until dethroned by an act of the grossest injustice; but I intend to expose the traitorous conspirators to the indignation of an outraged world.
TICKLER (aside to SHEPHERD.): He's raving.
SHEPHERD (to TICKLER.): Dementit.
ODOHERTY (to both.): Mad as a hatter. Hand me a segar.[4][5]

Canadian author Thomas Chandler Haliburton used the phrase twice in his 1835 book The clockmaker; or the sayings and doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville: "And with that he turned right round, and sat down to his map and never said another word, lookin' as mad as a hatter the whole blessed time" and "Father he larfed out like any thing; I thought he would never stop - and sister Sall got right up and walked out of the room, as mad as a hatter. Says she, Sam, I do believe you are a born fool, I vow."[4][6]

See Also

References

  1. ^ a b c Why Do We Say ...?, Nigel Rees, 1987, ISBN 0-7137-1944-3
  2. ^ Johnson, Samuel (2005), Penguin, p. 289, ISBN 0-141-44157-7 
  3. ^ Barbara Mikkelson (13 July 2007). "Mad As a Hatter". snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/hatter.asp. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
  4. ^ a b Gary Martin. "As mad as a hatter". phrases.org. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/mad-as-a-hatter.html. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 
  5. ^ Original text by Project Gutenberg.
  6. ^ Original text by Google Books

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • mad as a hatter — Completely mad (poss from the odd behaviour of some hatters due to mental and physical disorders caused by the mercury in the chemicals used in the making of felt hats) • • • Main Entry: ↑hat mad as a hatter see under ↑hat • • • Main Entry: ↑mad… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mad as a hatter — or[mad as a March hare] {adj. phr.} Not able to think right; crazy. * /Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mad as a hatter — or[mad as a March hare] {adj. phr.} Not able to think right; crazy. * /Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mad\ as\ a\ hatter — • mad as a hatter • mad as a March hare adj. phr. Not able to think right; crazy. Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter …   Словарь американских идиом

  • mad as a hatter —    To say that someone is as mad as a hatter means that they are very strange or insane.     The old lady next door is as mad as a hatter. She says the strangest things! …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • mad as a hatter — adjective /ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætə,ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætɚ/ Demented or crazy. Hes a very good fellow, but as mad as a hatter. Hes called Madman, you know. And never was such a fellow for getting all sorts of rum things about him. He tamed two snakes last half,… …   Wiktionary

  • mad as a hatter — strange, eccentric, batty, plumb loco    If you wear that pink wig, people will think you re mad as a hatter …   English idioms

  • mad as a hatter — insane, totally crazy, demented, mad as a March hare …   English contemporary dictionary

  • mad as a hatter or —  March hare Crazy …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • (as) mad as a hatter March hare — (as) mad as a ˈhatter/a March ˈhare idiom (informal) (of a person) mentally ill; very silly From the Mad Hatter, a character in Lewis Carroll s Alice s Adventures in Wonderland. Because of the chemicals used in hat making, workers often suffered… …   Useful english dictionary

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