- mad as a hatter
- *mad as a hatter & *mad as a march hare1. crazy. (Alludes to the crazy characters in Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
*Also: as \mad as a hatter.) •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 ofmad
in the first sense. *Also: as \mad as a hatter.) •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.
* * *or[mad as a March hare] {adj. phr.} Not able to think right; crazy. * /Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter./
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.