Irish Slang For Crazy (5 Examples!)

Irish slang is incredibly robust and varied, and there’s a useful phrase not only for any situation but any slight variation within that situation.

One thing the Irish love to tell you is that you’re being crazy for one reason or another.

But, in all likelihood, they won’t say it like that.

There are countless slang terms in the Irish lexicon that can more than adequately describe someone or something that’s crazy or being crazy.

Today, we’re going to find out about some of these phrases.

So, let’s get started.

In This Article

Mental

Starting off with doubtless the most ubiquitous and quintessentially Irish slang term for crazy, we have “mental”.

This is the one you’re most likely to hear and could be used to describe a person being crazy or just a crazy situation or thing.

“He’s gone mental,” for instance, if you’re friend was acting strange or crazy.

In any part of Ireland, this term is likely to be understood more as a slang term than anything else.

In terms of the origin of this word, naturally the word itself is very old.

It originally was simply the Latin mens, meaning mind, and in Middle English it eventually became mental, simply meaning of the mind.

By the 19^th Century, it had taken on, in both Britain and Ireland, the meaning of someone who is mentally ill.

This is due to the advent of psychiatric treatment in some form recognizable to what we have today.

Thus, shortly after this, it took on its slang meaning of “crazy” in the everyday sense.

Barmy/balmy

Another way to say something or someone is crazy in Irish slang is to say it is “barmy.”

This one is used across the UK and in Ireland as well, and though perhaps is falling out of popular use to some extent, it’s still very much alive and well in Ireland today.

“The inside of that building is absolutely barmy!” for example. It’s just crazy.

The origin of this term is very interesting, and we seem to have a direct handle on it.

Before bakeries had brewer’s yeast available to them, they would have something called a “barm tub” to discard spare dough and let it ferment.

This would produce a liquid used for leavening the bread. The resulting alcoholic brew would produce a powerful effect, which would make the drinker “barmy”.

This meaning originated in the late medieval period, and so probably spread to Ireland from a very early stage, around the 16^th Century or perhaps even earlier.

Batty

This next one is a bit more recent, but no doubt with an equally powerful hold on Irish slang.

This one does have a couple of slightly different meanings depending on the circumstances, so just be a bit cautious with it. “Batty” can also be a homophobic insult in some contexts.

However, in this usage and in most Irish people’s minds, for something to be “batty” simply means it is crazy or nonsensical.

It could mean a person or a thing, again. “This holiday resort is absolutely batty!” for example.

It means something is amazing, very surprising, or it could mean more simply just odd. “I don’t know what he’s doing but he’s been acting really batty lately,” for example.

Its original sense is first attested in 1903, so as I say, it’s quite a bit more recent.

The idea was that someone had “bats in their belfry,” which is the part of a tower in which the bell is housed.

Your “belfry” in this metaphor is your head, and so you are “batty” if you’re acting like you’ve got bats flying around in your head.

Bonkers

Again, this one is common throughout much of Ireland and Britain, and is a universally understood term meaning crazy.

Indeed, for something to be bonkers means it is completely crazy.

It can, though, be used in various contexts, depending on how dramatic someone is feeling! “This movie is completely bonkers,” for example.

It just means it’s very strange and crazy. Again, this one could also be used to describe a person.

Unfortunately, we aren’t really sure where or when this term originated.

It seems to be first recorded in the early 20^th Century, but didn’t come to take on its modern meaning until after the Second World War.

As far as we can see, it originally meant a bit drunk, but it could also have originally had the sense of “bonk”—as in, a blow to the head.

Unfortunately, we just aren’t sure.

Banging

This one means a great and very energetic sense of excitement which might very well be describe as crazy by a lot of people.

It’s the kind of thing you might say of something like a party or an event, where there are lots of people and lots of things going on.

“The gig was absolutely banging last night!” for example.

This has the simple sense that it was “very good”, but also the broader sense that it was very good in an almost crazy way.

Again, we aren’t completely sure of the origin of the phrase in this sense.

In the 19^th Century, it originally had the sense of simply “very big”.

So, it’s possibly just a natural progression of that to come to mean crazy.

So, if you’re ever in Irish company and you hear any of these words, you know that they are talking about something crazy.

Whether it’s crazy because it’s getting on your nerves, or just plain weird, there’s going to be an appropriate way to describe it using Irish slang.

Some of these are certainly shared across parts of the UK, too, as there is often a great deal of crossover between the two slangs.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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