crazy/insane gradation

[James Harbeck]

>Completely different connotations.  Consider, you can be crazy like a fox,
>but who'd want to be insane like a fox?

You're right that "crazy" has some latitude that "insane" lacks; the
"bad" crazy is on the same cline as "insane," however. And we should
remember that when we see someone do, for instance, a double-twisting
triple flip in the aerials in the Olympics, we may say "That's
insane!" with admiration. There is, I think, a measure of awe or fear
in "insane" that is lacking in "crazy."

James Harbeck.

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