stir-crazy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
First attested around 1925, from prison slang stir (“jail or prison”).
Meanings
- (slang) Of a prisoner, mentally unbalanced due to prolonged incarceration.
-
(broadly, slang) Restless, uncomfortable, or impatient due to inactivity or confinement.
After so many days of rain, the kids started to get a bit stir-crazy.
And many, at the same time, are anxious and bored and underemployed and overemployed and stir-crazy and uncertain and lonely and terrified.
2020 March 19, Megan Garber, “The Utter Weirdness of Small Talk in a Pandemic”, in The Atlantic:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most stir-crazy | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| stir crazy | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more stir-crazy | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |