Congress Goes Cuckoo: Top 5 Bonkers Moments from Recent House Oversight Committee Hearing
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What is the origin of the phrase "to go cuckoo"? It seems to have two meanings. In England it usually means to go mad or insane, while in America it seems to be used to mean wildly enthusiastic about something.
"Going cuckoo" means to go insane ... the use int he US to mean "enthusiastic" --- generally from the advertising slogan "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" on tv ...
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The UK use of cuckoo indicates something less than insanity - barmy rather than barking. It probably comes from the repetitive call of the cuckoo, implying that the person concerned is making as much sense as the bird.
Maybe from Aristophanes' cuckooland