Barmy

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbɑː(ɹ)mi/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)mi
• Homophones: balmy

From Old English beorma ("yeast")

Full definition of barmy

Adjective

1. (rare) containing barm, i.e. froth from fermented yeast
• DrydenBarmy beer.

Probably an alteration of balmy

Adjective

1. (chiefly British) odd, strange.
• 2013, Russell Brand, Russell Brand and the GQ awards: 'It's amazing how absurd it seems' (in The Guardian, 13 September 2013)http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/sep/13/russell-brand-gq-awards-hugo-bossI thanked John, said the "oracle award" sounds like a made-up prize you'd give a fat kid on sports day – I should know, I used to get them – then that it's barmy that Hugo Boss can trade under the same name they flogged uniforms to the Nazis under and the ludicrous necessity for an event such as this one to banish such a lurid piece of information from our collective consciousness.

Synonyms

• dotty, goofy, wacko

Derived terms

• barmily
• barminess

Usage notes

in US English, balmy is usual for sense (2); elsewhere this is occasionally found but some authorities consider it erroneous, despite its probable etymology.

Anagrams

• ambry