drive someone nuts
drive someone nuts (idiom)
/draɪv ˈsʌmwʌn nʌts/
Meaning
- Annoy someone to the point of frustration or anger.
- Make someone feel mentally overwhelmed or distressed.
- Cause someone to become irrational or act unusually due to extreme emotions.
- Excite someone intensely, often in a romantic or sexual sense.
Synonyms: irritate; infuriate; annoy; frustrate; agitate; unnerve; overwhelm; exasperate.
Example Sentences
- His constant humming was starting to drive me nuts during the meeting.
- The kids running around the house all day can really drive you nuts.
- She’s so beautiful, she can drive any guy nuts just by smiling.
- The pressure of meeting the deadline was enough to drive him nuts.
Origin and History
The Core Meaning of “Nuts”
The key to understanding the idiom lies in the adjective “nuts.” This informal term has been used since the early 1900s to mean “crazy,” “mad,” or “insane.” So, to “drive someone nuts” literally means to cause them to become mentally deranged. However, in modern usage, it’s almost always used figuratively to describe someone being extremely annoyed or frustrated, rather than literally driven to insanity.
Theories and Beliefs About Its Origin
The “Head” Connection Theory
One prominent theory links the use of “nuts” to the head, suggesting an association between the “nut” as a hard casing and the human head containing the brain, and thus the mind. If someone is “nuts,” their mind is perceived as being unsound, much like a cracked or broken nut. This theory proposes that the idea of “driving someone nuts” means to essentially “break” their mental stability or patience.
Evolution from “Enthusiasm”
Interestingly, the word “nuts” had an earlier, different meaning. In the 17th century, phrases like “nuts to me” or “nuts for me” were used to refer to something delightful or a source of pleasure. This meaning likely stemmed from the pleasant taste of nuts. Over time, particularly in Britain, “nuts” was also used in phrases like “dead nuts on,” signifying extreme fondness or enthusiasm for someone or something.
The transition from “enthusiasm” to “insanity” might seem odd, but some theories suggest a connection through the idea of obsession. Extreme enthusiasm or infatuation can sometimes border on obsession, which, in turn, can be seen as a form of mental imbalance or irrationality. This could have paved the way for “nuts” to acquire its “crazy” connotation in the early 20th century.
Association with “Nutcase”
The term “nutcase,” meaning an insane or very foolish person, reinforces the idea of “nut” being linked to mental instability. While “nutcase” itself might have evolved concurrently or slightly after the “nuts” as “crazy” meaning, it further solidified the connection in common language. The act of “driving someone nuts” can be seen as pushing them towards becoming a “nutcase.”
The “Basket Case” Parallel
While not a direct origin, the idiom “basket case” offers a parallel in meaning. A “basket case” refers to someone or something incapable of functioning normally, often due to a state of helplessness or mental distress. This term, with its imagery of being broken or incapacitated, shares a similar emotional intensity with “drive someone nuts,” implying a state of extreme disarray. This comparison highlights how different idioms can converge on similar concepts of mental or emotional breakdown.
Imagined Origins: The “Nutcracker” Effect
One could playfully imagine a more literal, albeit fanciful, origin. Picture a relentless, annoying sound or action akin to a “nutcracker” continuously breaking open nuts. The constant, grating repetition could metaphorically “crack” a person’s patience, driving them to a state of agitation or madness. While purely speculative, it illustrates how the sound or action associated with nuts could have influenced the idiom.
Imagined Origins: Squirrels and Hoarding
Consider the frantic and sometimes obsessive behavior of squirrels gathering and burying nuts. If someone were to “drive someone nuts,” it could metaphorically refer to pushing them into a state of frantic, almost deranged activity, similar to a squirrel overwhelmed by the need to collect nuts, embodying a loss of calm and rational thought.
Country of Origin and Earliest Printed Record
The phrase “drive someone nuts” is generally considered to have originated in American English.
The first known use of “drive (someone) nuts” was in 1908. While a specific earliest printed record can be elusive, dictionaries generally pinpoint this period.
Variants
- drive someone crazy
- drive someone mad
- drive someone bananas
- drive someone bonkers
- make someone lose it
Similar Idioms
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