We already discussed a number of German words that may be translated as "crazy" in a couple of previous lessons. These include the adjectives verrückt, wahnsinnig, irre, and bescheuert, as well as the verbs spinnen and piepen. Let's take a look today at German expressions and idioms relating to "crazy."

But please remember: while it may be perfectly polite to use such expressions regarding objects or situations, it’s rude and aggressive to use them to describe people. The German Duden dictionary even warns: The reference of the adjective "crazy" (and words derived from it) to mentally or psychologically ill people is strongly discriminatory. It also might get somebody very angry with you, so it's a better policy to be polite!

Ich will den Verstand verlieren.

I want to lose my mind.

Caption 12, Christina Stürmer: Neue Single

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The expression den Verstand verlieren is perfectly paralleled in English. The expression nicht bei klarem Verstand sein has the similar meaning "to be out of one's mind."

Erst mal muss man eine Macke haben, denn wir haben einen Haufen Geld investiert.

First of all you have to be crazy, because we've invested a bunch of money.

Captions 26-27, Summer Cheergirl: Fotoshooting mit lebendigen Spinnen

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This idiom is slang, and the literal translation of eine Macke is "a defect" or "deficiency."

Hast du noch alle Tassen im Schrank?

Have you gone crazy?

Caption 35, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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The above phrase translates literally to "Do you still have all of your cups in the cupboard?" This expression is similar to the English expression "Have you lost your marbles?"

Du bist nicht ganz dicht!

You're crazy!

Caption 4, Es war einmal: Archimedes

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The adjective dicht means, in this context, “sealed,” “waterproof,” “airtight,” or “leakproof.” The expression is somewhat similar to the English expression "to come unhinged."

Du tickst doch nicht mehr ganz richtig.

You've lost your mind.

Caption 54, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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The slang idiom nicht richtig ticken is literally "not ticking correctly," such as when a clock is not working correctly. This is similar to the English expression "to become unwound."

Further Learning
You can review the lessons Are You Crazy? and "Crazy" in Slang and Idiom to review the adjectives and verbs mentioned above. Then go to Yabla German and watch the full videos for the above captions to get a better feel for the contexts in which they are used.

Let's continue on from the first lesson about different insect names in German, starting with the sometimes rather annoying fly: 

In dem Moment ist mir eine Fliege ins Ohr geflogen.

At that moment, a fly flew into my ear.

Caption 57, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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There are also a number of German idioms and slang usages that use the noun die Fliege:

Damit schlägt sie zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe.

With that she hits two flies with one swatter.

Caption 7, Christina Stürmer - ist reif fürs Museum

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Hau ab! Mach die Fliege, sonst gibt's Ärger.

Get lost! Do the fly, or there'll be trouble.

Caption 39, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt

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The two translations above are literal, of course. Zwei fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen has the English equivalent "to kill two birds with one stone." And die Fliege machen means to get away quickly, just as flies do. The common housefly is called die Stubenfliege, by the way.

Another potentially annoying insect is die Motte:

Kleine braune Motten mit scharfen Zähnen flogen aus der Büchse.

Little brown moths with sharp teeth flew out of the box.

Caption 54, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Büchse der Pandora

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Die Motten flogen aus dem Fenster und stachen jeden, der ihnen in die Quere kam.

The moths flew out the window and stung everyone who crossed their path.

Captions 63-64, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Büchse der Pandora

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Fliegen Motten in das Licht, genau wie du und ich.

Moths fly into the light, just like you and I.

Caption 2, Nena - Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann

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Even though they're technically arachnids, not insects, let's include die Spinne: 

Alligatoren, Schlangen, Spinnen, Skorpione.

Alligators, snakes, spiders, scorpions.

Caption 3, Summer Cheergirl - Fotoshooting mit lebendigen Spinnen

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And then there are the amazing traps that spiders lay and live upon:

Das sieht aus wie ein Spinnennetz.

That looks like a spider web.

Caption 55, Die Pfefferkörner - Alles auf Anfang

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As well as an idiomatic expression that means "how horrible":

Aber einem Menschen seine Krankheit vorzuwerfen: Pfui Spinne!

But criticizing a person for his illness: ugh, spider!

Caption 54, heute-show - Die männliche Merkel hat Erinnerungslücken

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And here's another idiomatic expression using die Laus (plural: die Läuse), which is asking here if you are upset about something:

Ist Ihnen schon wieder eine Laus über die Leber gelaufen?

Did a louse walk over your liver again?

Caption 13, Weihnachtsmann gesucht - Der echte Weihnachtsmann

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Further Learning
See if you can guess the meanings of the following German insect words, and then make them plural in German and check if you were correct: die Mücke (or die Stechmücke); die Kakerlake; die Libelle; and lastly an easy one: der Grashüpfer. Then go to German Yabla and watch some other videos about insects.