looney
loonie
1. slang The Canadian one-dollar coin. (So called due to the picture of a loon, a kind of bird, on its front.) Primarily heard in Canada. The machine gave me a bunch of loonies as change for that twenty dollar bill. For only costing a loonie, this cup of coffee isn't half bad!
2. slang The Canadian dollar as a currency. Primarily heard in Canada. The strength of the loonie has continued to rise following the prime minister's announcement regarding the new trade agreement.
loony
1. adjective, slang Crazy, eccentric, foolish, or senseless. A glib adaptation of the word "lunatic." Also spelled "looney" or "loonie." I think everyone is feeling a little loony after being cooped up in the car for so long. My siblings all think I'm a bit loony because I practice alternative medicine.
2. noun, slang A crazy, eccentric, foolish, or senseless person. We can't have a loony like that as our governor! Am I the loony here, or has everyone else just lost their minds? Because this is the most harebrained scheme I've ever heard.
loony bin
slang A psychiatric hospital or insane asylum. From a glib adaptation of the word "lunatic," the phrase is now considered tactless at best, extremely insulting at worst. Back in my grandfather's time, anyone suffering from severe depression or anxiety would have just been thrown in the loony bin, so people suffered in silence and in secret. When she joked about putting someone like my brother in the loony bin, I threw my drink in her face and walked out of the restaurant.
See also: bin, loony
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
loony
and looney and loonie1. n. a crazy person. (From lunatic.) I’m beginning to feel like a loonie the longer I stay around here.
2. mod. crazy. That is a loony idea. Forget it.
3. mod. alcohol intoxicated. She’s acting a little loonie. Let’s get her home before she’s sick.
looney
verbSee loony
loonie
verbSee loony
loony bin
n. an insane asylum; a mental hospital. Today’s loony bins are far different from those of just a few decades ago.
See also: bin, loony
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
loony bin
Insane asylum. The word “lunatic” comes from the word for “moon”; madness was associated in many cultures with the effect of the phases of the moon on the human mind. From lunatic came loony, and loony bin was where insane people were incarcerated. The phrase is now considered insulting in the extreme, as are “booby hatch” (originally a covered passageway down a ship deck), “funny farm,” “drool academy,” and “foam rubber city” (a reference to padded cells).
See also: bin, loony
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
- loonie
- loony
- dollar for dollar
- one’s bottom dollar
- (one's) bottom dollar
- toonie
- simoleon
- Two Bob
- bet one’s bottom dollar
- bet your bottom dollar/your life