AEE 2524: How Crazy Adds Color to Your English

Summary

All Ears English Podcast – Episode 2524: How Crazy Adds Color to Your English

Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Aubrey Carter
Date: December 3, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Lindsay and Aubrey break down the many ways the word "crazy" is used in American English, particularly as an adjective. Prompted by a listener’s question, they share six distinct meanings and practical uses of "crazy," ranging from informal and slangy to more serious contexts. The hosts provide real-life examples, clear explanations, and advice on cultural sensitivity and intonation, showing how “crazy” can add vibrant expression—and authentic connection—to English conversation.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Literal (and Outdated) Use of "Crazy"

• Definition: Historically, "crazy" meant "not mentally sound" or "mentally ill."
• Current Usage: This sense is now rare due to increased sensitivity about mental health; more precise terms like "mentally ill" or "suffering from mental illness" are preferred.
  • Quote [06:13, Aubrey]: “Of all of the meanings we’re going to talk about today, this is actually now used the least often. We’re much more careful to use the word crazy.”

2. "Crazy" Meaning Wild, Strange, or Out of Control

• Definition: Used for describing wild situations or behaviors—something unpredictable, energetic, or chaotic.
• Examples:
  • “The crowd went crazy when the band came on stage.” [07:23, Aubrey]
  • “Traffic is crazy downtown right now.” [07:32, Lindsay]
  • Remembering riskier or unpredictable "crazy" youth or phases in life.

3. "Crazy" as Extremely Good, Impressive, or Surprising (Positive Slang)

• Definition: "Crazy" can intensify how good or surprising something is (slangy, positive meaning).
• Examples:
  • “That concert was crazy good.” [08:34, Aubrey]
  • “You got the job after one interview? That’s crazy!” [08:43, Lindsay]
  • Intonation matters: Positive delivery conveys amazement, not negativity.
    • Quote [09:01, Aubrey]: “If your intonation is very positive, be like, ‘that’s crazy,’ then they would know you mean like, ‘that’s awesome.’”
  • Add it before other adjectives: “crazy awesome,” “crazy delicious,” “crazy beautiful.”

4. “Crazy” as Negative: Excessive or Unreasonable

• Definition: Used to indicate something is way beyond normal or what’s acceptable.
• Examples:
  • "They're charging crazy prices for coffee in that hotel." [09:56, Lindsay]
  • “She works crazy hours, 12 hour days, six days a week.” [10:11, Lindsay]
  • “It's crazy to buy a new car when you just got one last year.” [10:13, Lindsay]

5. “Crazy” Meaning Unrealistic, Foolish, or Risky

• Definition: Used for irrational or senseless ideas, plans, or actions.
• Examples:
  • "That's a crazy idea, but it might just work." [11:03, Lindsay]
  • "You'd be crazy to quit your job without another one lined up." [11:03, Aubrey]
  • This builds on the original mental health association, but now simply means "illogical" or "foolish."

6. "Crazy" as a Slang Intensifier

• Definition: Functions like "very" or "extremely" to make another adjective stronger (can be positive or negative).
• Examples:
  • “It’s crazy hot today.” [11:51, Aubrey]
  • “She runs crazy fast.” [11:57, Lindsay]
  • “He’s crazy talented.” [12:04, Aubrey]
• Cultural Note: Very informal—best used with friends, not in business settings.
  • Quote [12:04, Lindsay]: “That is slang. So if you’re in a business scenario, maybe we’re not using that...”

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Role Play Segment: Illustrating "Crazy" in Conversation

Role Play Topic: A festival that got out of control
Timestamps: [14:18–15:11]

• Aubrey: "You won't believe what happened at the festival last night. It was absolutely crazy."
• Lindsay: "Oh yeah? What happened?"
• Aubrey: "It was so packed and suddenly I look up and this crazy guy is climbing a speaker tower."
• Lindsay: "Yikes. Was he hurt?"
• Aubrey: "Not that I saw. I hope not. But I wouldn't be surprised."
• Lindsay: "I'm glad I didn’t go. Tickets were crazy expensive."

Breakdown:

• "Absolutely crazy" = wild, out of control (Point 2)
• "Crazy guy" = foolish, irrational (Point 5)
• "Crazy expensive" = as an intensifier (Point 6)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On expressiveness and connection:

  • [16:35, Aubrey] “This is a great way to connect, to exaggerate a story or to share. Right. If something really crazy or unexpected happened and to use this fun, informal vocabulary for it.”
  • [16:46, Lindsay] “When it comes to human connection, people connect with people that feel things. You want to connect with someone else that's seeing the world in vivid colors. And this is a way to show that you’re seeing the world in vivid colors.”

• On intonation:

  • [09:34, Lindsay] “You have to say that with some intonation too... That would be strange if you say that with a monotone.”
  • [17:08, Aubrey] “It’s really important to avoid a monotone or you’re kind of losing that chance to connect because like you were saying, the color comes out in both your vocabulary and your intonation.”

• On cultural change:

  • [06:14, Lindsay] "I think we're a lot more careful now. We have more technical terms for it. Someone's suffering from mental illness..."

---

Practical Tips

• Use “crazy” to make stories and descriptions more vivid, but be mindful of both the context and your intonation.
• Reserve informal uses for casual conversations, not professional settings.
• Avoid the historical, literal use when referring to mental health—use precise, respectful language instead.
• Pair "crazy" with positive adjectives for modern, upbeat slang (“crazy delicious”).
• Practice varying your pronunciation and emphasis to communicate the intended emotion.

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Related Episodes & Further Listening

• Episode 2522: “What to say when you lose your train of thought” (recommended at [16:11])
• Older episode: Discussed the appropriateness of calling people “crazy” ([06:14]; search the blog or use ChatGPT to locate)

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Final Takeaway

The word "crazy" is a flexible and colorful tool for everyday English—using it thoughtfully can help ESL speakers sound more natural and connect more deeply. It brightens up language, but as with any slang, it’s best deployed with awareness of context, audience, and tone.

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Hosts’ Parting Words:
[17:26, Lindsay & Aubrey]: “You got it. Good stuff, Aubrey. We’ll see you in the next episode!”

Transcript

[A]

This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2524 How Crazy Adds Color to your English.

[B]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host who Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe. Humans want to connect with those who see the world in bright colors today. Learn how to use this word crazy to do six different things, including how to intensify what you're saying. Listen in. Today, Comfort is more than how a mattress feels. Comfort is knowing your investment is a smart one for your health, your home and the planet. Comfort is confidence. Like the Echo Organic Mattress, Avocado's most affordable mattress. It's radically affordable for a certified organic mattress. With its medium firmness, it offers the perfect plush softness and solid support. Comfort is long lasting, low quality memory foam breaks down in a matter of years. Avocado mattresses are handcrafted from the finest natural organic ingredients for superior durability and are designed to last better for you and the planet. Head to avocadogreenmattress.com today and check out their mattress and bedding sale. That's a V O C A D O G N M A T T r e s s.com avocado dream of better hey Aubrey, how's it going?

[A]

I'm great, Lindsay. How are you today?

[B]

I'm feeling good. Today I'm feeling good. Are we talking about movies today?

[A]

Do you have a trivia question for you? Okay, so we're talking about the word crazy today. We got a great question about it and I'm curious, how many movies do you think have the word crazy in the title?

[B]

That's a great question. I, I would think like a hundred of them. I don't know a lot, a lot more.

[A]

So this I had to use AI and like search and try to find out. And they were like making an estimate. They AI was making an estimate using all of these different movie databases like IMDb and they were including foreign language films. Okay, so that was more than. There were 1500. Oh my estimate. Oh my gosh. So I guess it makes sense when you think of all of the foreign language films. I, I don't know what it would just be for English, but there are a lot, there are a lot of movies can you think of one?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, there's Crazy Rich Asians. That came out a few years ago. That's a good one. There's Crazy Stupid Love, which I don't think I've seen that one.

[A]

Oh, that was with Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I know that one. Yeah. Where he mentors him.

[A]

Right. And he's dating his daughter and he doesn't realize. Yes, that's a good movie. Yeah. And then Crazy Heart. I love that. You ever see that with Jeff Bridges where he's sort of a washed up country singer. It's like an alcoholic. And the one of like his famous song from when he was younger is called Crazy Heart. It's actually a really heartwarming film.

[B]

I highly recommend.

[A]

It's a few years old now.

[B]

All right, so crazy clearly is an important word culturally in English, right?

[A]

Definitely, yes. And we got a great question about it. I could read it if you'd like. This was on YouTube. Remember? YouTube's a great place to leave us your questions. This was from Wistfully Windy.

[B]

I love that. That's really good. That's a really good name. Yes.

[A]

And they said, oh, and it's Krishna. I said, hi, guys, I'm Krishna. Thank you for this great episode. Could you make an episode on the different uses of the word crazy, including positive and negative meanings? Thank you so much for your lovely podcast. It means the world to me. Thank you for leaving this great question.

[B]

We love beautiful reviews like that and great questions. So in today's episode, we're going to share six. Six different ways we Crazy. Isn't that crazy, Aubry, that we have so many.

[A]

These are all as an adjective because we also have a lot of express. Right. And nouns even. So today, these are all the different ways we use it as an adjective. So definitely hit follow. We'll do a part two with some of the interesting expressions and idioms with the word crazy.

[B]

God, I love when we do episode series. It just makes me want the next part of the series, you know?

[A]

Right. I'm excited about it.

[B]

You know, close the loop in my mind. So good, guys, hit the follow button. And while you're doing that, check out our reviews. Right? Go ahead and leave us a review. I want to say a special thank you to to QCC who left us a five star review from China on October 27th. Guys, go and tell us what you think of the show. We'll announce your name out loud on the show. And most importantly, it helps us keep going. It helps us Continue and be excited to create new episodes every week for you.

[A]

So yes, we appreciate those reviews. Lindsay often will copy and paste and send them to us and it always makes my day to get those.

[B]

Makes. Makes our day. We do this for our listeners, so we want to make sure you guys are getting our episodes. Loving our episodes. And you can also ask your question right there inside your review. Right, Aubrey? That's an option.

[A]

Yes, absolutely. Right. Wherever you leave a review, leave your questions there as well.

[B]

All right, can't wait to read those reviews. So let's get into it. Aubry, there are six of them. What's the first one?

[A]

Yeah, so number one, I mean is the most literal meaning, right? Or historically the word crazy has meant like not mentally sound like mentally ill, suffering from, you know, so this is tricky. This. Of all of the meanings we're going to talk about today, this is actually now used the least often. We're much more careful to use the word crazy. We really would instead say, you know, maybe mentally ill or suffering from mental illness now instead of using the word crazy, wouldn't you think, Lindsay?

[B]

I totally agree. I think we're a lot more careful now. We have more technical terms for it. Someone's suffering from mental illness. And I know that Michelle and I did an episode on exactly this topic. You know, can you use the word crazy to refer to people? I can't find it now. So for our long time listeners, maybe remember that episode. It was probably five years ago.

[A]

It was a while ago. Yeah. Maybe find it on the blog or in the app if you do a little bit of searching chat. GPT is a good resource for that as well. If you ask like, you know, has Allers English done an episode about this and you could maybe find it that way. So more details there in an older episode. Yeah, we're going to focus on these other meanings that we do use really often where we'll say crazy and we do. We no longer mean that like literally mentally ill. We mean something else. So for example, like, like go ahead, Aubrey, go ahead. We say we might mean like wild, strange or out of control. And this is used to refer to someone's behavior or a situation.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. So someone is behaving in an unusual and unpredictable, energetic kind of wild way. Right.

[A]

For example, the crowd went crazy when the band came on stage. So this would mean yelling really loud, jumping around would say they went crazy.

[B]

Yeah. Or traffic is crazy downtown right now. And one way that I hear people refer to this is referring to themselves when they were young, like Everyone sort of has their crazy years and maybe in their 20s, or maybe you take more risks than you would when you're older. Right.

[A]

Aubry, do you now be like, I was crazy in my youth. What was I thinking? Yeah. Up and moved to Japan without even considering.

[B]

Yeah. Hitchhiking or just crazy things that you would not do now that you did then? So you might hear people referring to their past in like a very, I guess, a wistful way. Right?

[A]

Yeah, maybe. Right. To sort of say they were unpredictable, they were spontaneous, and they might use crazy to describe that. Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah. And then the next one is where crazy means extremely good, impressive, or surprising. Okay, this is interesting because I feel.

[A]

Like this is sort of slang. It's getting more and more common. It's very positive. Might mean like impressive, unbelievable, extreme. So for example, that concert was crazy good. You just mean it was extremely good. It was amazing.

[B]

Yeah. This one might be new for a listener. So I'm excited about this. You got the job after one interview. That's crazy. Meaning that's great.

[A]

That's amazing. And this is interesting because depending on your intonation there, you could mean that's unexpected or surprising, and you wouldn't want to intend that. Right. But if your intonation is very positive, be like, that's crazy. Then they would know you mean like, that's awesome.

[B]

Yeah, you're right. You could be delivering two totally different meanings depending on how you deliver it.

[A]

Right. And to be. To make sure there's no confusion there, you can always use crazy before another positive adjective, like awesome. You say like, that's crazy awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This is crazy delicious.

[B]

And then it becomes.

[A]

Emphasizing it.

[B]

It becomes a lot more slangy when we do that, doesn't it?

[A]

Yes, absolutely.

[B]

Or the view from the top of the mountain was crazy beautiful.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And we have to say that with some intonation too.

[A]

That would be strange if you say that with a monotone. That was crazy beautiful. What?

[B]

It was crazy beautiful.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Is what we're looking for there.

[A]

Exactly. And so it just means very extremely. Right. It's a great way to emphasize, but a more interesting way to inter. To emphasize. Yes.

[B]

What's number four?

[A]

All right, four is negative. Again, means excessive or unreasonable. So sort of like beyond normal limits of what would be expected.

[B]

For example, they're charging crazy prices for coffee in that hotel. Like ridiculous. Right?

[A]

Not mean. Yep. Like very similar to ridiculous, super high unreasonable. Or she works crazy hours, 12 hour days, six days a week.

[B]

Or it's crazy to buy a new car when you just got One last year. It's unreasonable. Michelle told us in a different episode recently, sometime this month, about a twelve dollar iced coffee.

[A]

Yes, I remember that. And she's like, never mind. And walked away. I would totally do that too. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

No, and then we did another episode that's coming out soon about how. What to say when that happens. When you change your mind. When the price is too high, actually. All right, what's the fifth way, Aubrey?

[A]

Okay, so this means unrealistic or foolish or risky. So sort of like irrational, not sensible. Yeah.

[B]

So this is kind of playing off the theme of like mentally unwell in a sense. Right?

[A]

Yeah. Right. Something that someone would do who is not rational.

[B]

Right. So that's a crazy idea. But it might just work.

[A]

Yeah. Or you'd be crazy to quit your job without another one lined up. So of course here this doesn't mean mentally ill. It means like unreasonable. Yeah, right. They just think it's illogical.

[B]

And the last one is an intensifier. And we touched on this earlier. We're going to show you more examples of how it's a slang that can intensify what you're trying to say. Intensify an adjective. Right, Aubrey?

[A]

Yeah. So this is different. It's slightly different. So sometimes it means like extremely good. Yeah. And then often we're just using it to mean very. And here it could be either it could be very bad or very good. It's just used to intensify. So this is kind of showing how could be anything. You could say it's crazy hot today. And this does not mean there's nothing positive there. I'm saying it's extremely hot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's probably not a good thing.

[B]

That's not a good thing. Or she runs crazy fast. Right.

[A]

Extremely. Extremely. Yeah. Or he's crazy talented. Those last two are more positive. Just saying like extremely.

[B]

And again, just a reminder, that is slang. So if you're in a business scenario, maybe we're not using that to describe. Right. It depends on who's around you.

[A]

And very informal.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Similar to super. Right. He's super talented. He's crazy talented. These are extremely informal.

[B]

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[A]

Okay, so we are talking about a festival that got a little out of control that I was at. I'm going to tell you about it in this role play, Lindsay. Okay, I'm ready.

[B]

I'm ready.

[A]

You won't believe what happened at the festival last night. It was absolutely crazy.

[B]

Oh yeah? What happened?

[A]

It was so packed and suddenly I look up and this crazy guy is climbing a speaker tower.

[B]

Yikes. Was he hurt?

[A]

Not that I saw. I hope not. But I wouldn't be surprised.

[B]

I'm glad. I'm kind of glad I didn't go. I was going to, but tickets were crazy expensive.

[A]

Nice. We got a few of them here. I first was just describing this festival as absolutely crazy. So that's that. Second meaning. Wild, strange, out of control.

[B]

Yeah, really good. And then you used number five, the foolish meaning. Right. So I look up and this crazy guy is climbing a speaker tower. Right.

[A]

Exactly where we'll say it to mean irrational, foolish. We'll describe people, and sometimes situations too, as like, illogical. This way.

[B]

Exactly. And then finally I said I was glad I didn't go. I was going to go. But the tickets were crazy expensive. And here I'm using crazy as an intensifier to modify expensive. Very expensive.

[A]

Very expensive. And this is a more interesting way, like what a great way to connect. If you're going to exaggerate, you don't want to always say very, really, extremely. These slang words. If you're speaking with friends in an informal conversation. This is a great way to connect, to use this more trendy slang to exaggerate. That's true.

[B]

And even potentially on Ielts speaking part one, right, Aubry?

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, yeah, we often recommend this to say super crazy way these more informal slang words to say very.

[B]

Yep, we know speaking part one is okay for more casual stuff. So, guys, go over and check out the I Energy podcast. If you have I in your future, we are over there for you. So, Aubrey, where's another episode? Our listeners could get more Allers English.

[A]

Yes, there was a really good one recently. If you missed it, scroll up and check it out. 25, 22. What to say when you lose your train of thought. This was really an awesome episode with all of the different things you can say say when just suddenly you don't remember what you were saying.

[B]

It was such a good episode. I love that topic for an episode. So guys, do not miss that one. And what is our final takeaway today? What does this mean for connection? Aubry?

[A]

Yeah, this is a great way to connect, to exaggerate a story or to share. Right. If something really crazy or unexpected happened and to use this fun, informal vocabulary for it.

[B]

Yeah. So when it comes to human connection, people connect with people that feel things. Right. You as a person want to connect with someone else that's seeing the the world in vivid colors. And this is a way to show that you're seeing the world in vivid colors. You know, you actually put some energy into what you're saying. If you're experiencing something that seems extreme, use the intensifier. So.

[A]

Absolutely. And don't forget what Lindsay said, that with this kind of vocabulary, it's really important to avoid a monotone or you're kind of losing that chance to connect because like you were saying, the color comes out in both your vocabulary and your intonation. You're saying this in an interesting way. You don't want to be. You don't want to use a monotone.

[B]

You got it. All right, good stuff, Aubry. We'll see you in the next episode. Have a good day. Awesome.

[A]

Thanks, Lindsay.

[B]

All right, bye. Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

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