lose one's marbles
Go completely crazy
To lose one's marbles is to go crazy or become mentally unstable.
The phrase suggests a scattering or loss of the small round objects associated with childhood games—and by extension, one's wits.
It's usually informal and often humorous: Grandpa's losing his marbles—he called me by my father's name three times today.
Can describe temporary confusion or permanent decline.
- crack upLaugh uncontrollably
- loopyMildly crazy, informal
- deliriumAcute mental disorientation
- absent-mindednessPreoccupied inattention to surroundings
- not all thereMentally deficient somehow
go off the deep end · out to lunch · wacky · dementia · senility · lunacy · go bananas · kooky · madness · flip one's lid · bonkers · brain fog · off one's rocker · bats in the belfry · zany · derangement · amnesia · go nuts
lose one's marbleshave one's head screwed on
To be sensible
keep one's head · stay sharp · keep it together · stay grounded · keep one's cool
lose one's marblescome to one's senses
Return to rational thinking
wise up · think straight · stay sharp · get one's act together · sober up
lose, loses, losing, loser, losers, loss, losses, ones, marble