Green’s Dictionary of Slang

of people, suffering from an excess of drugs, drink, fast living, stress.

[1869		Man about Town 4 Dec. 102/3: My mare was done as ‘crisp as a biscuit,’ [...] and refused to budge].
1979		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 2: crispy – affected by drinking or drugs.
1979		H. Feldman et al. Angel Dust 100: You don’t just cut them out of things because they’re a little too crisp.
1988		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 3: crispy – extremely hung over, beyond fried or baked.
1996		Eble Sl. and Sociability 45: Among the synonyms for drunk are [...], crispy, flipped out, fried.
2001		T. Fontana ‘Medium Rare’ Oz ser. 4 ep. 9 [TV script] ‘Jesus Christ, you’re looking a little crispy, my brother.’ ‘I got to get some tits’.
2002		‘A paramedic reviewer’ ‘Rev. of Bringing out the Dead by Joe Connelly’ at BarnesandNoble.com 🌐 The main character, Frank Pierce, is so burned-out he’s crisp, and Joe Connelly shows what can potentially happen to any of us who get too close to the edge in this job.