phrase
Mad as a Hatter
Eccentrically, theatrically insane.
Origin
The phrase predates Lewis Carroll โ 19th-century hatmakers used mercury to cure felt, and chronic mercury poisoning caused tremors, paranoia, and confusion ('mad hatter disease'). Carroll's Mad Hatter at his endless tea party in Alice in Wonderland is the version everyone now pictures.
Modern usage
Used affectionately ('he's mad as a hatter, but he's brilliant') more than diagnostically. A 'mad hatter's tea party' is any meeting in which the conversation refuses to follow rules.
Tags
madness
wonderland
eccentric