What Does “Driving Me Nuts” Mean?

Meaning Of “Driving Me Nuts” 

As you probably know, the common phrase “driving me nuts” is something that people say to express frustration or annoyance. Many people also use “nuts” to replace words like crazy or insane. 

Either way, these two phrases go hand-in-hand and always mean the same thing in English! 

Examples Of Using “Driving Me Nuts” 

  • My mom was driving me nuts because she played her music on full volume all night long. 
  • One of my neighbors always leaves trash out on the curb, which drives me nuts. I think I am going to talk to them about it tomorrow night.
  • My phone charger stopped working, and it is driving me nuts. 
  • I have a big final exam coming up soon, and the amount of stress I’m under is driving me nuts. 

Where Does The Phrase Originate? 

According to most sources, the word “nut” was commonly used in the 19th century to describe someone’s head. Soon after, the word began to describe people who acted strange or crazy; This is where we got the term “nuts” to describe insane people. 

In addition to these aural accounts, a few written accounts date back to the early 1900s. Most of the written records of people using the term “driving me nuts” seem similar to how we use it today! 

In other words, the term “nuts” was first used to describe someone’s head and then evolved to describe crazy people. Then it was adapted to describe when people make you so mad that you are going insane (or “going nuts”). 

Related: Check out our “common expressions” section for more articles like this one!


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By Ryan Fisher

Ryan holds degrees from Pacific Lutheran University and specializes in proofreading, editing, and content writing with an emphasis on business communication.

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