mad as a hatter
/ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "He's a very good fellow, but as mad as a hatter. He's 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, and used to carry them about in his pocket; and I'll be bound he's got some hedgehogs and rats in his cupboard now, and no one knows what besides."
- ""I think he’d be as mad as a hatter at your insinuation that he would invite any of his wives, if all I hear of him is true; and what I’ve heard, Wolsey has told me.""
- "I think Adam Wayne, who is as mad as a hatter, worth more than a million of you. But you have the force, and, I admit, the common sense, and he is lost."
- "Once Lord John passed across his newspaper, upon the margin of which he had written in pencil, "Poor devil! Mad as a hatter." No doubt it was very eccentric, and yet the performance struck me as extraordinarily clever and amusing."
- "Sometimes, I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter; and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is method in his madness."
- "If you ask me that woman's as mad as a hatter."
Etymology
First recorded 1829. Of uncertain origin, though usually explained as referring to hat-makers suffering from Erethism due to handling mercury-contaminated felt. Derivation from Old English ātor (“poison”) or its descendant English atter lacks evidence.
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
- Root: ātor
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætɚ/
- British English: /ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætə/