trolley
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Related to trolley: Trolley problem
be off (one's) trolley
slang To be crazy or eccentric. Usually used humorously. Don't listen to a word he says, he's off his trolley! You're off your trolley if you think that plan will work.
now you're on the trolley
Now you understand what I mean or how to do this. A: "So this piece slots in here, and we connect these two wires together, right?" B: "Yeah, now you're on the trolley!"
off (one's) chump
Crazy or insane. He must be off his chump to pay that much money for that old car. Am I completely off my chump for starting a business in this economy?
off (one's) nut
Crazy or insane. I think you're off your nut for changing careers this late in life, but, hey, follow your dreams. He's off his nut if he thinks he can get that engine fixed by this weekend.
off (one's) trolley
Crazy or insane. When he told me about his plan to renovate the old, condemned house, I immediately thought he was off his trolley. You must be off your trolley if you think you can lift that heavy box by yourself.
slip (one's) trolley
1. slang To become insane; to go mad. Usually used jocularly or sarcastically. You've slipped your trolley if you think that plan will work! My poor granny is starting to slip her trolley. She called me Darlene the other day—that's the name of her dead cat!
2. slang To become uncontrollably angry. My parents are going to slip their trolley if they find out I took the car without asking! Cool it, man—don't slip your trolley. We'll find a way to get it working again.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*off one's rocker
and *off one's nut; *off one's trolleyFig. crazy; silly. (*Typically: be ~; go ~.) Sometimes, Bob, I think you're off your rocker. Good grief, John. You're off your nut.
slip one's trolley
Sl. to become a little crazy; to lose one's composure. I was afraid I would slip my trolley. He slipped his trolley and went totally bonkers.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
off one's head
Also, off one's nut or rocker or trolley or chump . Crazy, out of one's mind, as in You're off your head if you think I'll pay your debts, or I think Jerry's gone off his nut over that car, or When she said we had to sleep in the barn we thought she was off her rocker, or The old man's been off his trolley for at least a year. The expression using head is colloquial and dates from the mid-1800s, nut has been slang for "head" since the mid-1800s; rocker, dating from the late 1800s, may allude to an elderly person falling from a rocking chair; trolley, also dating from the late 1800s, may be explained by George Ade's use of it in Artie (1896): "Any one that's got his head full of the girl proposition's liable to go off his trolley at the first curve." The last, chump, is also slang for "head" and was first recorded in 1859.
off one's rocker
Also, off one's nut or trolley . See off one's head.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
off your trolley
BRITISH, INFORMALIf someone is off their trolley, they are behaving in a crazy way. If they think officers are going to give up their cars, they're off their trolley. Most people think I'm off my trolley, but I've never been so sure of anything in my life.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
off your trolley
crazy. informalThe trolley in this case is a pulley running on an overhead track that transmits power from the track to drive a tram; the idea is similar to that in go off the rails (see rail).
1983 Nathaniel Richard Nash The Young and Fair If you suspect Patty, you're off your trolley.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
off your ˈtrolley
(British English, informal) crazy; stupid: He’s completely off his trolley!This idiom is similar to ‘go off the rails’ but refers to a tram (= a vehicle driven by electricity than runs on rails in the street) that has become disconnected from the power in the overhead track.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
off one’s rocker
mod. silly; giddy; crazy. (see also rocker.) That silly dame is off her rocker.
off one’s trolley
mod. silly; eccentric. Don’t mind Uncle Charles. He’s a bit off his trolley.
slip one’s trolley
tv. to become a little crazy; to lose one’s composure. (see also off one’s trolley.) I was afraid I would slip my trolley.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
off (one's) rocker
Slang Out of one's mind; crazy.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Now you're on the trolley
Now you catch on. “Trolley” refers to the streetcars that predated buses and subways in major cities. To flounder around to the answer to a question or how to perform some sort of procedure and then to come up with the right answer was the equivalent of getting on a trolley that's on the right track (as in track of streetcar rails).
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price