"stark" = insane

[Chris F Waigl]

Laurence Horn wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "stark" = insane
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 7:12 AM -0700 7/18/07, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
>
>> 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"
>>
>
> The OED also has "starkers", for either 'stark naked' or 'stark
> raving mad'.  I think I've come upon this in Bridget Jones or a
> similar place, definitely British.  (I no longer remember which of
> these senses was intended.)
>
>

I've certainly heard "starker" in both senses in conversations here in
London.

However, I just asked the (native British English speaking) colleague
what "starker" evokes for him, and he replied "nude". He wouldn't employ
it in the sense of "mad".

Cheers,

Chris Waigl

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