round the twist

round the twist

Crazy; mentally unsound. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. I think Jane's grandmother is a little round the twist these days. You must be going round the twist if you think that's a good idea!
See also: round, twist
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

round the twist

BRITISH, INFORMAL
If you say that someone is round the twist, you mean that their ideas or behaviour are very strange or foolish. You would have to be really round the twist to get pleasure out of this. This man's round the twist. Note: You can say that someone goes round the twist if they start to behave in a crazy way, often because they are bored or annoyed by something. Most of them go round the twist in the end, you know. His predecessor killed himself. I'd go round the twist if I didn't work. Compare with round the bend.
See also: round, twist
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

(drive somebody/be/go) round the ˈbend/ˈtwist

(informal, especially British English) (make somebody/be/become) crazy: I’m going round the twist trying to repair this machine. Nothing I do seems to work. He practises the same tune all day; it drives me round the bend (= annoys me very much).
See also: bend, round, twist
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • round the bend/twist
  • round about
  • in round numbers
  • driving
  • buy a round
  • buy a/the round (of drinks)
  • round out
  • argue round and round
  • tear round
  • spin round
References in periodicals archive
Round The Twist has a huge range of parties including its famous glow discos, you can even choose a character to join in.
Round the Twist
Australian Children's Television Foundation Round the twist (1990).
Australian Stories: How local children's content shapes identities
The suspicion that those backers had gone round the twist was confirmed by the dog's fifth place behind Billis Renegade.
5 things we learned from the weekend
"If I'd done a play in the West End for 50 years I think I'd have gone round the twist by now" - William Roache, who has been Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since the first episode 50 years ago.
They say
Merlin BBC1, 7.40pm Once again it's that pesky Morgana who's set to drive Merlin round the twist this week.
Saturday's TV
I don't know where the notion came from - I was thinking, 'Am I going round the twist here?
Black Cats boss is still keeping up his anger over Liverpool's pursuit of Jones
Bernard Woolley, hapless Principal Private Secretary to Jim Hacker in Yes Minister, noted that the idea of mental oddity declines irregularly: 'I have an independent mind, you are an eccentric, he's round the twist.'
Science and Eccentricity: Collecting, Writing and Performing Science for Early 19th-Century Audiences
An hour of a kids' drama like Round the Twist clocks up $660,000 to $840,000 on the producer's spreadsheet.
Just what are they watching ...? Andrew Einspruch takes a look at the Australian Children's Television Foundation
After a seven-year wait, the Australian Children's Foundation bows a totally recast 26-part half-hour third season of popular live-action comedy "Round the Twist."
Oz's `Ocean Girl' gets animated
Confirmed particpants are Alfie's Beer Bus, Bwydiful, a South Wales company serving up high quality, artisan street food, Origin Clothing, Wing Innit, a chicken wing pop-up company, The Wonderbar, Outpost Vinyl, Dusty Knuckle Pizza, Round the Twist, who make potatoes with a twist, and Coffee Pot Drive.
Mini festival will raise cash for charity; PREVIEW: Alfie-Fest, Cardiff
But we've developed a distorted view of ourselves in this country while showing the symptoms of going round the twist.
Self esteem? More like self harming; Rodgers didn't disrespect our game ... we're doing it ourselves
My missus hates football and I think the ongoing Rangers saga is driving her round the twist.
If you're pasta caring about football, just watch England
PRIESTS are praying Postman Pat Broderick's EUR7million Lotto win won't drive him round the twist.
LOTTO PRAY DAY
During a 14-hour tour we consumed the famous surfing mecca of Bell''s Beach, Split Point, Aireys Inlet (where the Split Point Lighthouse was made famous in UK children''s TV show Round the Twist) and the free and easy seaside town of Lorne.
Living the idyllic Australian dream; Luke Traynor finds rain and shine in Victoria and on the heralded Sunshine Coast
However, these days both the adverts and the programmes would drive most of us, I imagine, right round the twist. Is it just me, I wonder, who remains un-brainwashed by the likes of Michael Winner (Esure), Michael Parkinson (Sun Life), Henry Cooper (stairlifts), Gloria Hunniford (Flora pro-active ) and of course those awful sofa adverts.
Rubbish adverts; LETTERS to the EDITOR