Drive someone nuts
Meaning
To irritate or annoy someone to the point of extreme frustration or madness.
Origin
The association of "nuts" with insanity or craziness began to circulate in 19th-century slang, likely stemming from the idea of the head as a container for thoughts, and a "nutty" person having a head full of loose or malfunctioning parts. When paired with the verb "drive," which implies forceful propulsion, the phrase "drive someone nuts" paints a vivid, albeit informal, picture of pushing someone relentlessly towards a state of mental agitation and extreme frustration. It became a powerful and popular idiom, particularly in American English, for describing the feeling of being overwhelmed by an annoyance to the point of losing one's composure.
Examples
- The constant dripping faucet in the bathroom is going to drive me nuts if it doesn't get fixed soon.
- Her habit of humming off-key during meetings really drives her colleagues nuts.