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To be as "mad as a March hare" is an
A long-held view is that the hare will behave strangely and excitedly throughout its breeding season, which in
BBC Nature page with videosBoxing hares videos
English-language idioms Metaphors referring to animals 16th-century neologisms
To be as "mad as a March hare" is an English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language ...
atic phrase derived from the observed antics, said to occur only in the March breeding season
Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...
of the European hare
The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...
(''Lepus europaeus''). The phrase is an allusion that can be used to refer to any other animal or human who behaves in the excitable and unpredictable manner of a March hare.
Historical development of the idiom
A long-held view is that the hare will behave strangely and excitedly throughout its breeding season, which in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
peaks in the month of March. This odd behaviour includes boxing at other hares, jumping vertically for seemingly no reason and generally displaying abnormal behaviour. An early verbal record of this animal's strange behaviour occurred in about 1500, in the poem ''Blowbol's Test''First printed by W. C. Hazlitt in 1864, ''Remains of Early Popular Poetry of England'' where the original poet said:
:''e''
:(Then they begin to swerve and to stare, And be as brainless as a March hare)
Similar phrases are attested in the sixteenth century in the works of John Skelton John Skelton may refer to:
*John Skelton (poet) (c.1460–1529), English poet.
* John de Skelton, MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)
*John Skelton (died 1439), MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)
*John Skelton (American footb ...
(''Replycacion'', 1528: "Aiii, I saye, thou madde Marche Hare"; ''Magnyfycence'', 1529: "As mery as a marche hare"). A later recorded use of the phrase occurs in the writings of Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
(': "."
Although the phrase in general has been in continuous use since the 16th century, it was popularised in more recent times by Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
in his 1865 children's book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
,'' in which the March Hare
The March Hare (called Haigha in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''.
The main character, Alice, hypothesizes,
: "Th ...
is a character.
See also
*The ''Daily Telegraph'' Affair of 1908, during whichWilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
of Germany referred to the English as being "mad as March hares".
*Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
*Mad as a hatter
"Mad as a hatter" is a colloquial English phrase used in conversation to suggest (lightheartedly) that a person is suffering from insanity. The etymology of the phrase is uncertain, with explanations both connected and unconnected to the trade of ...
*March Hare
The March Hare (called Haigha in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''.
The main character, Alice, hypothesizes,
: "Th ...
*March Hare (festival)
The March Hare is a former poetry festival in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and was the largest poetry festival in Atlantic Canada prior to 2018. It started in 1987 or 1988 as an evening of poetry and entertainment at the Blomidon Golf and Country ...
References
External links
{{wiktionary, March hareBBC Nature page with videos
English-language idioms Metaphors referring to animals 16th-century neologisms