barmyadj.
/ˈbɑːmi/, U.S. /ˈbɑrmi/ 1. Of, full of, or covered with barm; frothing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > substances for food preparation > [adjective] > leaven or yeast
barmy1535
yeasty1599
leavenish1608
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > [adjective] > frothy
barmy1535
cocktail1888
1535 D. Lindsay Satyre Gud barmie aill.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster v. iii. sig. L4 That puft-vp Lumpe of Barmy froth. View more context for this quotation
c1817 J. Hogg Tales & Sketches II. 256 Like barmy beer in corked bottles.
2.
a. figurative. Full of ferment, excitedly active, flighty.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > [adjective]
lightlyeOE
lightOE
lightsomea1425
flying1509
light-minded?1529
tickle or light of the sear?1530
giddya1547
light-headed1549
gidded1563
giddish1566
fling-brained1570
tickle-headed1583
toyish1584
shallow1594
leger1598
corky1601
barmy1602
airy1609
unfirma1616
unballast1622
cork-brained1630
unballasted1644
kickshawa1655
unserious1655
unstudious1663
flirtishc1665
caper-witteda1670
shatter-headedc1686
corky-brained1699
flea-lugged1724
halokit1724
shatter-brained1727
scattered-brained1747
shatter-witted1775
flippant1791
butterfly-brained1796
scatter-brained1804
gossamer1806
shandy-pated1806
shattery1820
barmy-brained1823
papilionaceous1832
flirtatious1834
flirty1840
Micawberish1859
scatterheaded1867
flibberty-gibberty1879
thistledown1897
shatter-pated1901
trivial-minded1905
scattery1924
fizgig1928
ditzy1979
1602 Returne fr. Parnassus (Arb.) i. ii. 9 Such barmy heads wil alwaies be working.
a1605 A. Montgomerie Poems (1821) 49 Hope puts that hast into ȝour heid, Quhilk boyl's ȝour barmy brain.
1786 R. Burns Poems 70 Just now I've taen the fit o' rhyme, My barmie noddle's working prime.
b. = balmy adj. 7 (of which it is an altered form, after barm n.2). slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > [adjective]
sickc1340
dottlec1390
doting1489
dotish1509
feeble-minded1534
weak-brained1535
silly1568
fondish1579
lean-witted1597
soft1621
weaka1661
touched1697
muzzy-headed1798
defective1825
wanting1839
half-baked1842
dotty1860
knock-kneed1865
lean-minded1867
doddering1871
weak-minded1883
ninepence in the shilling1889
barmy1892
drippy1952
dipshit1968
1892 Answers 27 Feb. 242/1 One plan is..to give foolish answers when asked questions. By this means the shammer gets known as being ‘barmy’ (weak-minded) among his shipmates.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 30 May 8/1 Should not ‘balmy’ be ‘barmy’? I have known a person of weak intellect called ‘Barmy Billy’... The prisoner..meant to simulate semi-idiocy, or ‘barminess’, not ‘balminess’.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 8 Nov. 2/1 All the boys think him barmy.
Compounds
barmy-brained adj. flighty.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > [adjective]
lightlyeOE
lightOE
lightsomea1425
flying1509
light-minded?1529
tickle or light of the sear?1530
giddya1547
light-headed1549
gidded1563
giddish1566
fling-brained1570
tickle-headed1583
toyish1584
shallow1594
leger1598
corky1601
barmy1602
airy1609
unfirma1616
unballast1622
cork-brained1630
unballasted1644
kickshawa1655
unserious1655
unstudious1663
flirtishc1665
caper-witteda1670
shatter-headedc1686
corky-brained1699
flea-lugged1724
halokit1724
shatter-brained1727
scattered-brained1747
shatter-witted1775
flippant1791
butterfly-brained1796
scatter-brained1804
gossamer1806
shandy-pated1806
shattery1820
barmy-brained1823
papilionaceous1832
flirtatious1834
flirty1840
Micawberish1859
scatterheaded1867
flibberty-gibberty1879
thistledown1897
shatter-pated1901
trivial-minded1905
scattery1924
fizgig1928
ditzy1979
1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. vi. 164 Cork-headed, barmy-brained gowks!
barmy-froth n. (figurative) a flighty, empty-headed fellow.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] > giddy, light-headed
light head1536
cock-brain1556
fiddler1591
wild goose1597
barmy-froth1598
knick-knacker1622
nugator1656
shatter-pate1775
feather-brain1776
whirl-brain1817
feather-head1834
date1914
bubblehead1916
airhead1971
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > [noun] > person
flippera1400
butterflya1500
dalliera1568
fling-brain1570
barmy-froth1598
inconsiderate1598
cork1601
cork-brain1630
kickshaw1644
shatter-brain1719
shatter-pate1775
shatter-wit1775
scatter-brain1790
flutter-pate1894
Jack-o'-wisp1896
ditz1984
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > capricious persons or animals > capricious or whimsical person
butterflya1500
wild-brain1580
wild-head1583
humorista1586
wild goose1597
barmy-froth1598
whirligig1602
maggot-monger1607
maggot-patea1640
kickshaw1644
whimsy-pate1654
maggot1681
volatilityship1771
whimship1793
vagarist1888
Jack-o'-wisp1896
Hamlet1903
temperamentalist1924
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie In Lectores sig. B Each odd puisne of the Lawyers Inne, Each barmy-froth, that last day did beginne To reade his little..whit.
Draft additions March 2006
barmy army n. (also with capital initials) British (a) derogatory a political faction regarded as extremist or fanatical; (b) Sport the supporters of a particular team, esp. those known for their raucous behaviour or vociferous support during matches; spec. (frequently as a self-designation) such a group of followers of the England cricket team.
ΚΠ
1987 Guardian 24 June 2/8 Delegates..expressed disillusion with the Labour Party and their resistance to what Mr Paul Gallent from Nottinghamshire called ‘the barmy army of the Left’.
1989 Independent (Nexis) 3 Jan. The best chance fell to City's Trevor Morley and he fired straight at Mervyn Day. The bananas drooped while Sergeant Wilko's Barmy Army cheered, to confirm the happier side.
1994 J. Birmingham He died with Felafel in his Hand (1997) iv. 65 I could hear those drunken Barmy Army fools singing Rule Britannia a way off in the distance.
1996 Sunday Tel. 4 Feb. (Review section) 24/1 The ‘Barmy Army’, English cricket's noisiest and most outrageous supporters, arrived in South Africa, raring to go, for the Test series this winter.
2002 South Wales Echo (Nexis) 2 Aug. 8 During the 1995 Tory leadership contest it was Collins who described John Redwood's campaign team as a ‘swivel-eyed barmy army’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1535