madness

To have a specific, rational purpose in what one is doing or planning, even though it may seem crazy or absurd to another person. I know you don't understand my motivation for this decision, but after the dust settles, you'll see that I have a method in my madness. You may have method in your madness, but these radical changes to the business could still prove catastrophic.

To have a specific, rational purpose in what one is doing or planning, even though it may seem crazy or absurd to another person. I know you don't understand my motivation for this decision, but after the dust settles, you'll see that I have a method to my madness. You may have method to your madness, but these radical changes to the business could still prove catastrophic.

There is a specific, rational purpose in what one is doing or planning, even though it may seem crazy or absurd to another person. I know you don't understand my motivation for this decision, but after the dust settles, you'll see that there is a method to my madness. There may be method to your madness, but these radical changes to the business could still prove catastrophic.

Fig. a purpose in what one is doing, even though it seems to be crazy. (*Typically: be ~; have ~.) What I'm doing may look strange, but there is method in my madness. Wait until she finishes; then you'll see that she has method in her madness.

something that you say which means that although someone seems to be behaving strangely, there is a reason for their behaviour When he picked the side I thought he must be crazy but, judging by their performance this season, there's obviously method in his madness.

An underlying purpose in crazy behavior, as in Harry takes seemingly random trips around the country but there's method to his madness-he's checking on real estate values . This expression comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet (2:2): "Though this be madness, yet there is method in it." For a modern equivalent, see crazy like a fox.

Do things in an unorthodox fashion, yet nevertheless achieve the intended result. Yet again Shakespeare's Hamlet provided a phrase that was picked up and used through the ages. Having observed Hamlet rave on in what appeared to be senseless sentences, Polonious makes a comment that turns out to be true: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.” Under less dramatic circumstances, the phrase applies to getting the right outcome by what seems to be the wrong method, and we've all done that.