# crazy person - euphemism



## rusita preciosa

Inspired by this old Cultural thread:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=429536&highlight=roos

What do you say in your language to euphemistically describe a crazy person:

In Russian we say
*у негo* *таpaкaны в голoве* /u nego tarakany v golove/ - he has cockroaches in his head
*у негo* *крышa пoехала* /u nego krysha poekhala/ - his roof took off rolling
*у негo* *нe вce домa* /u nego ne vse doma/ - not everybody is home

I like the AusE experssion:
*he's got a few 'roos loose in the top paddock*


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## ultravioleta

Le falta un tornillo = s/he has got a loose screw.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1030776


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## rusita preciosa

ultravioleta said:


> Le falta un tornillo = s/he has got a loose screw.


How about cockroaches in the head? I thought it existed in Castellano too?


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## ultravioleta

No, at least I did not heard this before. For dumb yes, I heard bad words like You have sh... in your head. But for crazy:  we're crazy, or you're missing a screw or te zumba el mambo... que no sé bien de dónde viene la expresión.

No, al menos no lo oí nunca. Para decir tonto sí, oí unas groserías como tener (la grosería) en la cabeza. Pero para loco, decimos estás loco, o te falta un tornillo, o te zumba el mambo


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## rusita preciosa

ultravioleta said:


> te zumba el mambo


que divertido! 
mambo as the dance?


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## ultravioleta

Pues no lo sé  es graciosa la expresión, pero no sé de dónde viene.


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## ThomasK

In Flanders you can hear: 
- *hij heeft ze niet meer alle vijf* (He no longer has all five [I guess we are referring a person needs five screws in order to function well ;-) ])
- _*hij heeft ze niet meer op een rij*_ (.... in a row [those five must be in a particular order, I guess]
- _*Hij vangt ze*_ (he catches them, whatever that may be [but not the screws !])
- _*hij heeft een slag van de molen gekregen*_ (he has been hit by the windmill [which cannot possibly be a reference to Don Q])
I think these are fairly common in parts of Flanders, not in the Netherlands. 

Unfortunately our Spanish-speaking friends have not yet explained _*te zumba el mambo*_, which sounds very good though.


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## enoo

Heh, I like the "cockroaches in the head" one  
That reminds me of the English "bats in the belfry"
and the French:
*avoir une araignée au plafond* (to have a spider on the ceiling - here, the ceiling "of the head")
Also:
*manquer un boulon* (to have a bolt missing)
*péter un câble/fusible/boulon* (to broke a cable/fuse/bolt... this one is more for someone who _suddently_ got crazy)


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## ultravioleta

También: estás mal del coco (coco, sí, el fruto de la palmera = cabeza)


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## ultravioleta

Encontré esto: en mundopoesia.com
*...*
*pela cocos como coche,*
*y aunque le ayudo con mis manos*
*con el cascarón me zumba el mambo.
*(*Zumba el mambo: Decir peruano que significa; "Me golpea la Cabeza")

Aunque yo creí que venía de Uruguay, o Argentina, ya que me parece haberlo oído por esa zona. Y en cuanto a la definición, me parecía que se relacionaba con tener un mambo zumbando en la cabeza. O sea, algo muy loco (en movimiento) como el mambo, dando vueltas en la cabeza, sin dejarte pensar con cordura.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
1-Του/της λείπει βίδα (tu/tis l*i*pi v*i*ða), "[he/she]has a screw missing"
2-Του/της έστριψε η βίδα (tu/tis *e*stripse i v*i*ða), "[he/she] has a screw loosen"
3-Τρελός παπάς τον/την βάπτισε (trel*os* pap*a*s ton/tin v*a*ptise), "[he/she] was baptised by a crazy priest"
4-Έχει λαλήσει, _or just_, λάλησε (*e*xi lal*i*si, or, l*a*lise); from the ancient verb λαλέω/λαλῶ (la'leō [uncontracted]/la'lō [contracted]) which means "to speak, to talk"; here it has the meaning of  "to jabber/yabber, to speak gibberish". Λαλώ is cognate with the Latin _lallō_, Lithuanian _laluoti_, German _lallen_, English _loll_ etc.


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## Awwal12

> "[he/she]has a screw missing"


Looks like this expression is sort of international; at least it exists in Russian as well: "у него не хватает винтиков в голове" /u nev*o* ne khvat*a*yet v*i*ntikov v golov*e*/ (he lacks/is missing little screws in the head).

Also I must mention a Russian expression "у него шарики за ролики заехали" /u nev*o* sh*a*riki za r*o*liki zay*e*khali/ (~his little balls have driven over his rollers).
"У него тараканы в голове" is rather synonymous to "у него пунктик /u nev*o* p*u*nktik/" - he has an oddity/quirk (literally - "he has a little point").

BTW, I usually give an approximate phonematic (although not phonetic) transcription in slashes, whereas *Rusita* gives a transliteration - so don't wonder.


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## jazyk

One we use in Brazil is Someone _não bate bem da bola_. I think _bater_ here, which normally translates as beat or strike, may be more correctly translated as function or work, and bola (ball), due to its shape, refers to the head.


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## rusita preciosa

jazyk said:


> One we use in Brazil is Someone _não bate bem da bola_.


So, the literal translation would be *his ball doesn't work well?*


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## rusita preciosa

Awwal12 said:


> *у него шарики за ролики заехали* /u nev*o* sh*a*riki za r*o*liki zay*e*khali/ (~his little balls have driven over his rollers).



That's a good one! I forgot about it. 

Just a note: this has nothing to do with testicles (balls) or curlers women put in their hair (rollers). Imagine some little devices (balls and rollers) rolling in someone's head, then suddenly get all mixed up and out of order.


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## jazyk

> So, the literal translation would be *his ball doesn't work well?*


The really literal one would be Someone doen't hit/struck well of/from/off the ball.


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## Nawaq

also in *French*, "manquer une case", "avoir une case en moins", "ne pas avoir toute sa tête", "être bercé trop près du mur", "timbré(e) (stamped)", "avoir un pète au casque"....


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## rusita preciosa

Nawaq said:


> also in *French*, "manquer une case", "avoir une case en moins", "ne pas avoir toute sa tête", "être bercé trop près du mur", "timbré(e) (stamped)", "avoir un pète au casque"....


Thank you! Could you please provide the literal teanslation.


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## ThomasK

We used to say in Flemish that someone was missing a screw in his head... Nowadays expressions are way more direct and less respectful, I think.


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## DaylightDelight

Japanese: We also have expressions with "a screw".  I wonder if it was introduced from a foreign language.
頭のネジが外れてる = got a screw in the head missing
頭のネジが緩んでる = got a screw in the head loose
頭のネジが飛んでる = got a screw in the head flown


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## 810senior

We say 頭に花が咲いているatama-ni hana-ga saiteiru lit. _flowers are blooming in the head_ for a person who's way too happy-go-lucky, thought to be going nuts to some extent.


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## bibax

Czech:

*šplouchá mu na maják* =lit._ it (i.e. water) laps/swashes against his lighthouse/beacon (i.e. head)_;
*kape/šplouchá mu na karbid* = lit. _it (i.e. water) drips/laps on his carbide_; (see the chem. reaction calcium carbide + water)
*straší mu ve věži* = lit._ it haunts in his tower (i.e. head)_ = _his tower is haunted_;
*má o kolečko méně* = lit. _he/she lacks one [little] wheel (i.e. in his gear = head)_;
*nemá všech pět pohromadě* = lit. _he/she hasn't all five [senses holding] together_;
*cvaklo mu v bedně* = lit. _it's clicked in his box (i.e. head, brainbox)_;
*jebe/jeblo mu (v hlavě, v bedně)* = lit. _it's fucking/fucked in his head, box_;

*mu* has to be replaced by *jí*, if the loony is a woman;

N.B. _a beetle in one's head_ is something else.

*Nasadila mu brouka do hlavy.* = lit. _She's deployed a beetle in his head._ = She's caused him to be thinking intensively about something (e.g. about her fidelity).


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## bibax

ThomasK said:


> Unfortunately our Spanish-speaking friends have not yet explained _*te zumba el mambo*_, which sounds very good though.


I guess it means: _You are bitten by the mamba. **_


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## spindlemoss

There are a number of phrases in Welsh, including:

*hanner call* "half sane" i.e. not fully sane

*chwarter call* "quarter sane" i.e. even less fully sane

*hurt bost *"(as) stupid (as) a post"

*off ei ben* "off his head" - the first word is borrowed from English, and is similar to phrases like "off his trolley"

My favourite is the following, because of the way it sounds too:

*ddim yn llawn llathen* [ˈðɪm ən ɬaun ɬaθɛn] "not a full yard"


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## ThomasK

DaylightDelight said:


> Japanese: We also have expressions with "a screw".  I wonder if it was introduced from a foreign language.
> 頭のネジが外れてる = got a screw in the head missing
> 頭のネジが緩んでる = got a screw in the head loose
> 頭のネジが飛んでる = got a screw in the head flown


It would be interesting to know when it was introduced. It seems less common around here now...


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## ilocas2

*zumbar* is *to buzz*, so *te zumba el mambo* could mean *the mambo is buzzing to you* or *the male of mamba snake is buzzing to you* perhaps


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## Plus7

In Greek Cypriot dialect we have "Χάνει η παττίχα του", meaning "his watermelon has a leakage"


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## KalAlbè

*Li pèdi tèt li* literally: he's lost his head.


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## Armas

Finnish:

-_ruuvit löysällä_ (has loosened screws)
-_ei ole kaikki kotona_ (doesn't have everyone home), this has an infinite number of variations "he doesn't have all the X in the Y"
-_vintti pimeänä_ (has lights turned off in the attic)
-_vintillä tuulee_ (the wind blows in the attic)
-_lepakoita vintillä_ (has bats in the attic)
-_lepakoita tapulissa_ (has bats in the church bell tower)
-_hissi ei mene ylös asti_ (the elevator doesn't go all the way up)


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## franknagy

Hungarian:
Elmentek otthonról? = Have they gone from home?
Nincs ki mind a négy kereke. = One of the four wheels are missing.


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## Encolpius

franknagy said:


> Hungarian:
> Elmentek otthonról? = Have they gone from home?
> Nincs ki mind a négy kereke. = One of the four wheels are missing.



Never heard the first phrase. 
You can also say the second one in a different way: Hiányzik egy kereke.


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## KalAlbè

Some classic ones in English:
*The lights are on but nobody's home.
He's a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
He's a few fries short of a Happy Meal. *
This construction of "a few (noun) short of a (noun)." is quite common, or at least once was.


Not much of a euphemism, but an expression I remembered in English (at least AE) is:
*Batshit*
used as an adjective, either alone or modifying another adjective.
Ex., _*He went batshit*_ or more commonly _*He's batshit crazy!*_


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## franknagy

It is interesting that card on the right side of the picture of the Hungarian card deck is used as "silly person", too.
This is the "tökfilkó".


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## Encolpius

franknagy said:


> It is interesting that card on the right side of the picture of the Hungarian card deck is used as "silly person", too. This is the "tökfilkó".



It is tök filkó, while a silly person is tökfilkó.


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## mataripis

Crazy literally means  out of order or unusual behavior. But it has different levels. Crazy due to chaotic situations- gimbal(shocked), due to depression- labis na kapanglawan or lutang na isip, due to lovelife- hangal ,hereditary craziness- buang, crazy behavior or out of control- lapastangan , addict to something wrong-hirati, wrong decision behavior- hibang.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Some Swedish expressions, most of which you will recognise.

Har en skruv lös = has a screw loose 
Har tomtar på loftet = has got brownies in the attic

Har inte alla bestick i lådan = hasn't got all the cutlery in the drawer
Har inte alla hästar hemma/i stallet = hasn't got all his horses at home/in the stable

The last two idioms are also used about someone who is stupid. A new one for stupid that I hadn't seen before is 
Hjulet snurrar men hamstern är död = the wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead. 

A modern way of describing weird or stupid people is by using a mock psychiatric acronym: 
NFED = Nåt Fel Är Det = something is [definitely] wrong [with him/her]

What is interesting is of course how many idioms that are international to some extent. Peter Bruegel the elder created a painting, Netherlandish Proverbs in 1559, illustrating a huge amount of idioms and proverbs. I recognised a few of them.


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