トチ狂くるう

Meanings

1

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

lose one's senses; go mad; go off the rails

colloquial

Colloquial, often used when someone acts crazy, loses control, or does something wildly irrational. Can be used seriously or hyperbolically.

あいつ、急きゅうにトチ狂くるって叫さけび出だした。
He suddenly lost it and started screaming.

そんな無む茶ちゃな計けい画かくを立たてるなんて、トチ狂くるってるよ。

Coming up with such a reckless plan—you've gone off the rails.

2

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

fool around; mess around; lark about

dated term

Dated usage for playful, silly, or frivolous behavior; now largely replaced by words like ふざける or 遊び回る. Rare in modern speech.

昔むかしの小しょう説せつでは、若わか者ものたちがトチ狂くるって騒さわぐ場ば面めんが出でてくる。
In old novels, there are scenes where young people lark about and make noise.

Written forms

トチ狂うUsage100%
- とちくるう
  Standard kanji-katakana spelling for the colloquial sense.
- とちぐるう
  out-dated reading
とち狂う
- とちくるう
  Hiragana-katakana variant; less common but still seen.
- とちぐるう
  out-dated reading
とちぐるう
out-dated reading

Kanji

狂lunatic, insane, crazy

Similar words

ふざける
ふざける is the standard word for fooling around or joking; トチ狂う in sense 2 is dated and much less common.
気きが狂くるう
気が狂う is a more literal and serious expression for going insane, while トチ狂う is colloquial and often hyperbolic.

Etymology

Derived from とちる (to mess up, blunder) combined with 狂う (to go mad). The exact origin of とちる is uncertain, but it may be related to 土地 (とち, land) or a mimetic root. The compound トチ狂う emerged as a colloquial expression for losing one's senses or acting wildly.