"stark" = insane

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jul 18, 2007, at 6:50 AM, Jon Lighter wrote:

> OED lacks British slang "stark," adj., meaning "crazy."

a clipping of "stark ravers" or "stark raving mad", involving "stark"
'to the fullest extent or degree; absolutely, utterly,
quite' (OED)'?  (OED has "stark raving mad", "stark staring mad", and
"stark ravers"

>
>   1930 C. R. Benstead _Retreat: A Novel of 1918_ 152: "The parson.
> He's stark." "What, naked?" "No, you fool. Mad. Raving mad."

the quotation itself suggests that both uses of "stark" are clippings.

>   Used in a similarly absolute way, the sense "naked" is from the
> 18th C.

arnold

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