rave

to shout angrily and wildly about someone or something. Barbara rants and raves when her children don't obey her. Bob rants and raves about anything that displeases him.

to recite praises for someone or something. The students were just raving over the new professor. Donald raved over the cake I baked. But he'll eat anything.

Cliché totally insane; completely crazy; out of control. (Often an exaggeration.) When she heard about what happened at the office, she went stark raving mad. You must be start raving mad if you think I would trust you with my car!

Talk loudly and vehemently, especially in anger, as in There you go again, ranting and raving about the neighbor's car in your driveway. This idiom is a redundancy, since rant and rave mean just about the same thing, but probably survives on account of its alliterative appeal.

Totally crazy, as in The constant uncertainty over his job is making him stark raving mad. This term, meaning "completely wildly insane," is used both hyperbolically and literally. Versions of this expression appear to have sprung from the minds of great literary figures. Stark mad was first recorded by poet John Skelton in 1489; stark raving was first recorded by playwright John Beaumont in 1648; stark staring mad was first used by John Dryden in 1693. The current wording, stark raving mad, first appeared in Henry Fielding's The Intriguing Chambermaid in 1734.