Bat-shit insane? Someone brought that phrase up on my Blog, and I've surely never heard it before. He did say it is what kids say.

I guess I am just too old.

I think "bat-shit" all by itself can stand in for "batty."

It's not a phrase I've come across, but I have heard of "going ape-shit".

Some raw Google stats:

"bat-shit" 134 K ghits
"bat-shit crazy" 74.1 K ghits
"bat-shit insane" 16.4 ghits

In Googling around and finding it used in a lot of Blogs and the like, Phrase Finder had some interesting theories.

One was a question if it related to a malady afflicting guano miners? Or histoplamosis or nitrate poisoning? I'll have to look into those ideas. I've studied both histoplasmosis and nitrates, but don't recall a link to bats.

Then someone posted that "boring as bat shit" is a "very common expression" in Australia, and it has been around for 20 years. I am wondering if it's used in New Zealand; I'll ask Stella.

Someone else mentioned the "bats in the belfry" idea, which is what I had been wondering about.

Sometimes, though, I think these phrases just pop up without much of an "etymology."

Some other bat-words from the OED1:

bat-flying 'dusk'
bat-shell 'a species of volute'
bat-tick 'an insect parasitical on bats'
bat-blind 'blind as a bat in sunlight'
bat-like 'like a bat, or like that of a bat'
bat(s)-wing 'shaped like the wing of a bat, spec. to the laterally spreading flame of a gas-jet, and the burner producing it'
bat-eyed 'having a bat's eyes, bat-blind'
bat-minded 'mentally blind'
bat-mindedness
bat-winged 'having a bat's wings'

All words? Or not?

Two vampire bats were hanging around their cave and one said to the other, "I'm hungry. I'm going to find some animal to drink its blood."

His buddy said, "Wait for th rest of us. You don't want to fly around alone out there. It's dangerous."

But bat number one said, "I can take care of myself," and off he flew.

An hour later, bat one came back, covered in blood.

Bat two said, "Wow! Looks like you did pretty good by yourself. Where did you go?"

Bat one said, "You see that tree over there?"

"Yes," said bat two.

"Well, I didn't."

bat-wing

Googling this word in Google Books lead to a delightful, digitized, 19th-century tome by Richard Williams yclept The Gas Consumer's Guide: A Handbook of Instruction on the Proper Management and Economical Use of Gas. With a Full Description of Gas-Meters, and Directions for Ascertaining the Consumption by Meter (Boston, 1871) (link). Further on down the path, I had read of argand lamps invented by the Swiss Amie Argand, but stolen by the dastardly Frenchman Quinquet. Indeed, on page 55, there were argands, bat-wings, fish-tails (or union jets), and the single jet. I am too young to remember gas-light, but we did use kerosene lamps during the frequent winter blackouts of my childhood living on the ranch.

quote:

Bat one said, "You see that tree over there?"

"Yes," said bat two.

"Well, I didn't."

Q: What's a vampire's favourite beer?
A: Bloodweiser.

But seriously, folks, I've read reports that wind turbines are far more deadly to bats than to birds. The low-pressure area over the blades is sufficient to deflate a bat's lungs, and they die of asphyxiation.

Now, ain't THAT bat-shit crazy!?!?

"Mommy, what's a vampire?"
"Shut up and drink your soup before it clots."

I recall that one from about thirty years ago.

quote:

All words? Or not?

I don't know what the authorities say, but I don't see them as separate words. I see "bat" as a word. Then all forms of "fly" (like "flying, flew," etc.), shell, tick, etc., as one word. Where I have difficulty, though, is when a word has several meanings. For example, a clock can "tick" or an insect is a "tick;" they're entirely different words, in a way. Yet, they just have to be considered one word, don't they?

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
[QUOTE] Yet, they just have to be considered one word, don't they?

That's exactly the point. They don't have to be considered anything. That some people would say one word and some two for those distinct meanings of "tick" illustrates the impossibility of counting. Similarly with all those compounds, you say that you don't consider them separate words whereas I definitely do consider them separate words. This is why we keep on insisting that a) a sensible definition of "word|" is very difficult and may be impossible, b) any kind of count is probably impossible, c) counting the words is a meaningless activity anyway.

Probably the biggest variation in the counts would come from inflected forms

run;runs;running;ran - one word or four
and what about
runner;runners

If those are different forms of one word what about

be;am;are;is;was;were

if those are different then why aren't the ones for "run"?

Just realised this probably belongs in the other thread. I'll duplicate the post there.