lose one's marbles
phrase

- if you say that someone has lost their marbles, you mean that their ideas or behaviour are very strange, as if they have become insane

Collins Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase "lose one's marbles" is a colloquial expression meaning to go crazy, become irrational, or lose one's mental faculties.

The term "marbles" historically referred to the small, round objects used in children's games. These marbles were often made of stone, clay, or glass.

By the late 19th century, "marbles" had started to be used metaphorically to refer to a person's mental faculties or wits. Losing one's marbles would thus imply losing one's grip on reality or rational thought, similar to losing something valuable and essential.

The exact origin of the phrase "lose one's marbles" is unclear, but it began appearing in American English around the late 1800s or early 1900s. The earliest recorded usage dates back to 1898, in a book titled "Alabama Sketches" by Samuel Minturn Peck, where it was used to describe someone becoming mentally unbalanced.

The connection to the game of marbles likely contributed to the metaphor, as losing your marbles in the game would mean losing control, which easily translates to the concept of losing control mentally.

Over time, the phrase gained popularity and became a common idiom in English, used to humorously or lightly describe someone who is acting irrationally or losing their composure.

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MARBLE MADNESS

Tiny spheres of glass and stone have rolled through the annals of human history, captivating children and adults alike for over 4,000 years. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Native Americans all had their versions of the game, using materials like clay, stone, and nuts.

The invention of marble scissors, known as "marbelschere”, by Elias Greiner, a German glassblower, around 1846 revolutionized production and made glass marbles widely accessible. Initially, they were used to create glass spheres for doll's eyes before being adapted for making playing marbles around 1850.

Ease of manufacture led to a marble craze that swept the world, and by the 1920s-1930s, machine-made marbles had largely supplanted handmade imports from Germany. Modern factories, especially in Mexico, now produce millions of marbles per day.

Two fun facts, then-and-now: (1) Some vintage marbles can fetch astronomical prices: a 19th century, pink opaque “Lutz” marble in mint condition sold for $25,800 at Morphy marble auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania in 2012; and (2) In 2023, the British team “Black Dog Boozers” beat the German side “1st MC Erzgebirge” in the final The World Marbles Championship in Tinsley Green, England.

To end more philosophically, remember the iconic sci-fi movie “Men in Black" (1997) starring Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K. and Will Smith as Agent J.? The movie ends with a scene where an alien child is seen playing marbles… and one of those marbles contains a galaxy, implying that the universe could be much smaller and more trivial than we can possibly imagine. That which we consider vast and important might be just a tiny part of something far greater, viewed from a different perspective.

Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

for "marbles"

aggies, alleys, baubles, beads, billes, bobbles, boulders, boules, cabochons, casters, clankers, clearies, crystals, dinky dots, devil's eyes, dibs, glassies, glass gems (orbs, pebbles, spheres), glimmers, globes, globules, gobs, gobstoppers, jaspers, knucklers, MARBLES, marbs, moonies, moonstones, nellies, orbs, rocks, rounds, shining shots, spheres, steelies, stonkers, tom bowlers, winks

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Thinking too much about thinking is enough to make anyone LOSE THEIR MARBLES!”

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