ENGLISH
REFERENCE

crackers

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈkɹækɝz// UK //kɹˈækəz// crack·ers Informal Slang

adj. silly, crazy, or acting in a strange way. You use this word in a lighthearted way to describe someone's behavior.

adj. insane or extremely foolish. Common in British English; often follows verbs like 'be', 'go', or 'drive someone'.


SIMPLE

He must be crackers to go swimming in this freezing weather.

CONTEXTUAL

The neighbors think I am crackers because I spend all day talking to my plants in the garden.

COMPLEX

While some viewed his business plan as a stroke of genius, others were convinced he had gone completely crackers for investing his entire inheritance into a single startup.

Synonyms
Origin

From cracker + -s. The South African sense is from their sound and its status as a plurale tantum by association with trousers. The adjectival sense derives from British naval expressions referring to firecrackers in one's head, originally as "he's got the crackers" and then "he's gone crackers" before the present "he is crackers".

Usage

Often follows linking verbs such as 'be', 'go', or 'drive someone'.

Pitfall

He is a crackers person.He is crackers.In this sense, the word is typically used after a verb rather than before a noun.

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