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> "it means go bananas" Surely it means "Balls." "Go bananas" means "go mad", I think, although I can't derive an etymology. "Nuts" seems to mean "mad", as i
by denton-scratch 3y ago
> "it means go bananas"
Surely it means "Balls."
"Go bananas" means "go mad", I think, although I can't derive an etymology.
"Nuts" seems to mean "mad", as in "nutty as a fruitcake", which for me brings to mind something like a Dundee cake (heavy mixture of dried fruit and nuts). I still can't derive an etymological connection between madness and (fruit|nuts).
- dcminter 3y agoNut can mean head, although it's a bit dated - giving nutcase and, in British English, nutter. I'd guess that's the root of it and that substitution gets you to other botanicals. Edit: I checked OED and it gives that derivation route.
- denton-scratch 3y ago"Nut" as "head" makes sense. And it's still current; if you strike someone in the face with your forehead, you have nutted them. So I buy "nutcase" as "head-case", therefore "mad".
- bitofhope 3y agoI believe "go bananas" is a bit of metonymy from "go ape", possibly through "go apeshit", with the idea that bananas are something of a precursor to primate excrement.
- DonHopkins 3y agoCharles Nelson Reilly always made going bananas and being bright and gay and fruity seem like so much fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNvy-YnSw3c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNvy-YnSw3c The Life of Reilly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1gTQ5Gxhpw&list=PL59B9706770CC4F27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1gTQ5Gxhpw&list=PL59B970677...
- WalterBright 3y ago"go nuts" and "go bananas" mean the same thing - go mad.