mad (redirected from madder)

*mad (at someone or something)

angry at someone or something. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; make someone ~.) Don't get mad at me. I didn't do it. I got mad at my car. It won't start.

*mad as a hatter and *mad as a march hare 

1. crazy. (Alludes to the crazy characters in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. *Also: as ~.) Poor old John is as mad as a hatter. All these screaming children are driving me mad as a hatter.

2. angry. (This is a misunderstanding of mad in the first sense. *Also: as ~.) You make me so angry! I'm as mad as a hatter. John can't control his temper. He's always mad as a hatter.

See also: hatter

*mad as a hornet and *mad as a wet hen; *mad as hell

very angry. (*Also: as ~. Use hell with caution.) You make me so angry. I'm as mad as a hornet. What you said made Mary mad as a wet hen. Those terrorists make me mad as hell.

See also: hornet

crazy about someone or something and mad about someone or something; nuts about someone or something; crazy for someone or something

Fig. very fond of someone or something. Ann is crazy about John. He's crazy about her, too. I'm mad about their new song.

See also: crazy

drive someone crazy and drive someone insane; drive someone mad 

1. . Lit. to force someone into a state of insanity or mental instability. The sound of the wind howling drove me crazy. The dog's constant barking drove me insane.

2. Fig. to annoy or irritate someone. This itch is driving me crazy. All these telephone calls are driving me mad.

See also: crazy, drive

get mad (at something)

to muster all one's physical and mental resources in order to do something difficult. Come on, Bill. If you're going to lift your end of the piano, you're going to have to get mad at it. The sergeant keeps yelling, "Work, work! Push, push! Come on, you guys, get mad!"

See also: get

hopping mad

Fig. very angry. Joe got hopping mad when the salescerk was rude to him. The student's practical jokes made the teacher hopping mad.

See also: hop

in a mad rush

Fig. in a hurry. I ran around all day today in a mad rush, looking for a present for Bill. Why are you always in a mad rush?

See also: rush

like crazy and like mad

Fig. furiously; very much, fast, many, or actively. People are coming in here like crazy. There isn't enough room for them all. We sold ice cream like crazy. It was a very hot day.

See also: crazy, like

mad enough to chew nails (and spit rivets) and angry enough to chew nails; mad enough to spit nails

Inf. Fig. very angry, as if to be able to bite through metal nails. I am mad enough to chew nails! Who took my checkbook? Her sudden tirade made him angry enough to chew nails. He stomped in, mad enough to chew nails and spit rivets.

See also: chew, enough, nail

mad enough to kick a cat

Rur. very angry. Stay out of my way. I'm mad enough to kick a cat! The team lost. The coach was mad enough to kick a cat.

See also: cat, enough, kick

so mad I could scream

very mad. I am just so mad I could scream! Why is he such a jerk? she makes me so mad I could scream.

See also: could, scream

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!

See also: raving, stark

tap-dance like mad

Sl. to appear busy continuously; to have to move fast or talk cleverly to distract someone. When things get tough, the whole Congress tap-dances like mad. Any public official knows how to tap-dance like mad when the press gets too nosy.

See also: like

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be as mad as a hatter

to be crazy

Usage notes: A long time ago, people who made hats used a substance that gave them an illness which made people think they were crazy.

Her brother's as mad as a hatter.

See also: hatter

be as mad as a hornet  (American)

to be very angry

Usage notes: A hornet is a large insect which stings people.

He was as mad as a hornet when he heard what she said about him.

See also: hornet

be as mad as a March hare  (old-fashioned)

to be crazy This woman was dancing in the road and singing very loudly - I thought she was mad as a March hare.

See also: hare, march

be barking mad  (British & Australian old-fashioned)

to be crazy You went swimming in the sea in the middle of winter? You must be barking mad!

See also: bark

be fighting mad  (American & Australian informal)

to be very angry When Dad finds out you've crashed the car, he'll be fighting mad.

See also: fight

be hopping mad  (old-fashioned)

to be very angry My Dad was hopping mad when I told him I'd crashed his car.

See also: hop

be stark raving mad  (British, American & Australian) also be stark staring mad (British)

to be completely crazy She looked at me as though she thought I was stark raving mad.

See also: raving, stark

Don't get mad, get even.

something that you say in order to tell someone not to be angry when someone has upset them, but to do something that will upset them as much This is my advice to wives whose husbands have left them for a younger woman - don't get mad, get even!

See also: even, get

like crazy  (informal)

if you do something like crazy, you do it a lot or very quickly We'll have to work like crazy to finish the decorating by the weekend.

See also: crazy, like

like mad  (informal)

if something hurts like mad it hurts very much, and if you do something like mad you do it very quickly and with a lot of force This cut stings like mad. I braked like mad but couldn't stop in time and hit the car in front.

See also: like

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crazy about somebody/something

to like or love someone or something very much mad about somebody/something He was my first love, and I was crazy about him.

Usage notes: often used in the negative form not crazy about to express a lack of enthusiasm about someone or something: I'm really not crazy about TV, but I occasionally watch a ballgame.

See also: crazy

drive you crazy also drive you nuts

to make you upset Until you get used to a new computer, the software will drive you crazy. Because I am not a patient person, I am quite sure that editing a dictionary would just drive me nuts!

Usage notes: also used in the form drive you mad

See also: crazy, drive

like crazy

1. a lot like mad She itched like crazy.

2. very quickly like mad The cucumbers here grow like crazy.

See also: crazy, like

like mad

1. a lot like crazy The competition is growing like mad in this field.

2. very quickly like crazy My poor heart is beating like mad.

See also: like

mad about somebody/something

to like or love someone or something very much crazy about somebody/something I was mad about animals and ignored everything else until I was about eleven.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of mad (crazy)