out to lunch
out of touch with the real world (crazy)
TRANSLATION
out to lunch = nicht alle Tasse im Schrank haben
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
For many years I have wondered why the president and Congress can't seem to act without getting almost everyone in the country upset in the process. Are these people totally OUT TO LUNCH?
(The Hartford Courant)
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"You folks are OUT TO LUNCH," said local resident Alan Appleby. "This bridge is not a good use of public funds. We need a little more vision and better planning."
(The Northumberland News, Canada)
(The Hartford Courant)
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"You folks are OUT TO LUNCH," said local resident Alan Appleby. "This bridge is not a good use of public funds. We need a little more vision and better planning."
(The Northumberland News, Canada)
Did you
know?
out to lunch
idiom
- not in touch with the real world; crazy
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
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WORD ORIGIN
There was a time when some office workers and local businesses would hang an "out to lunch" sign in a window or on a door to let people know they were getting something to eat, often at lunchtime.
Over time, this expression came to mean "not here" in the sense of "mentally absent" to describe someone who lacks sufficient mental capacity. This can refer to a person who is simply thinking about something else or it can mean someone who is really crazy.
These days, to tell someone that someone is really "out to lunch," as in actually getting something to eat, you can phrase it in one of the following ways:
He's having lunch
She's away at lunch
He's taken off for lunch
She's not back from lunch yet (in response to an enquiry)
This will avoid confusion and keep people from thinking that:
- His porchlight is on, but nobody's home.
- Her elevator doesn't go to the ground floor.
- He's a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
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SYNONYMS
around the bend, crazy as a loon, mad as a hatter, nutty as a fruitcake, not all there, off one's rocker, of unsound mind, out of one's mind, sick in the head, stark raving mad
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"It seems that being out to lunch is not incompatible with high office."
idiom
- not in touch with the real world; crazy
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
---
WORD ORIGIN
There was a time when some office workers and local businesses would hang an "out to lunch" sign in a window or on a door to let people know they were getting something to eat, often at lunchtime.
Over time, this expression came to mean "not here" in the sense of "mentally absent" to describe someone who lacks sufficient mental capacity. This can refer to a person who is simply thinking about something else or it can mean someone who is really crazy.
These days, to tell someone that someone is really "out to lunch," as in actually getting something to eat, you can phrase it in one of the following ways:
He's having lunch
She's away at lunch
He's taken off for lunch
She's not back from lunch yet (in response to an enquiry)
This will avoid confusion and keep people from thinking that:
- His porchlight is on, but nobody's home.
- Her elevator doesn't go to the ground floor.
- He's a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
---
SYNONYMS
around the bend, crazy as a loon, mad as a hatter, nutty as a fruitcake, not all there, off one's rocker, of unsound mind, out of one's mind, sick in the head, stark raving mad
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"It seems that being out to lunch is not incompatible with high office."
