To be as "mad as a March hare" is an English

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

atic phrase derived from the observed antics said to occur only in the March breeding season of the

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

(''Lepus europaeus''). The phrase is an allusion that can be used to refer to any other animal or human who behaves in the excitable and unpredictable manner of a March hare.

Historical development of the idiom

A long-held view is that the hare will behave strangely and excitedly throughout its breeding season, which, in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, peaks in the month of March. This odd behaviour includes boxing at other hares, jumping vertically for seemingly no reason and generally displaying abnormal behaviour. An early verbal record of this animal's strange behaviour occurred in about 1500, in the poem ''Blowbol's Test''First printed by W. C. Hazlitt in 1864, ''Remains of Early Popular Poetry of England'' where the original poet said: :''e'' :(Then they begin to swerve and to stare, And be as brainless as a March hare) Similar phrases are attested in the sixteenth century in the works of John Skelton (''Replycacion'', 1528: "Aiii, I saye, thou madde Marche Hare"; ''Magnyfycence'', 1529: "As mery as a marche hare"). A later recorded use of the phrase occurs in the writings of

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry V ...

(': "." Although the phrase in general has been in continuous use since the 16th century, it was popularised in more recent times by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

in his 1865 children's book ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

,'' in which the

March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in '' Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, : " ...

is a character.

Biological basis

During the breeding season of European or brown hares, male hares typically chase female ones. However, if a female hare does not wish to mate with a male hare, she may respond by engaging in a fight with the male hare. Observations of this particular behaviour have likely contributed to the association contained within the phrase "mad as a March hare."

References

External links

{{wiktionary, March hare
BBC Nature page with videosBoxing hares videos
English-language idioms Metaphors referring to rabbits and hares 16th-century neologisms 16th-century quotations Thomas More Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Historical development of the idiom

Biological basis

See also

References

External links