Green’s Dictionary of Slang

obsessed with, in love with; very pleased by/about; note earlier and less common nuts upon under nuts adj.

1835		‘A Blow-Out Among The Blowen’ Secret Songster 14: I’ll sing you an out-and-out chaunt, if you like, / About blear-eyed Molly, and goggled-eyed Mike; / Who being dead nuts on this rummy old whore, / He jump’d over the broomstick vith her to be sure.
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 75: Bet Starks, the swell of the Gate (Billingsgate) and the chummy’s darter, are dead nuts on him.
1853		Diogenes II 30: It’s rich nutty flavour I’m nuts on no more [F&H].
1858		Bell’s Life in Sydney 4 Sept. 3/3: billy was ‘nuts’ upon me.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 25/1: He had bragged the day before that she was ‘nuts’ on him.
1874		M. Clarke Term of His Natural Life (1897) 51: She’s nuts on Jack and ain’t likely to pick up with another man.
1880		Bulletin (Sydney) 24 July 9/4: Dr Wazir Bewg is nuts on juvenile smoking.
1884		Sporting Times 26 Jan. 1/3: She was nuts on poetry.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 24 Jan. 5/1: You say, in one of these contributions, ‘Squinny-eyed Liz is nuts on the Rorty Snob from Miller’s flat.’.
1895		E. Pugh Street in Suburbia 43: I’m nuts on ’im.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 53: Nuts,‘to be nuts with a person,’ to be pleased with him.
1898		W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 27 Feb. 8/6: She herself is dead nuts on them sort of men.
1900		E.W. Rogers [perf. Marie Lloyd] The Red and The White and The Blue 🎵 She’s nuts on the Red, White and Blue.
1901		D. Cotsford Society Snapshots 287: I hope you don’t mind my bringing along my young brother, but he was nuts on coming, and a man at a party is always useful.
1913		C. Mackenzie Sinister Street I 383: If I were dead nuts on a girl, the last thing I’d think of would be that.
1913		Sport (Adelaide) 5 July 9/4: They Say [...] That Sol M. is dead nuts on a tart named Norah.
1917		A. Brazil Madcap of the School 205: ‘She’s nuts on this afternoon-tea dodge! (I don’t care—I shan’t put a penny in the slang box)’.
1918		R.H. Knyvett ‘Over There’ with the Australians 134: We might not have been so elated had not the ‘Chocs.’ been such ‘nuts’ on themselves, for they had been offering ten to one on their chances.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 88: Immense, Martin Cunningham said pompously. [...] – Trenchant, Mr Power said laughing. He’s dead nuts on that.
1924		Galsworthy White Monkey 7: We’re nuts on Peace – and all were doing about it is to perfect poison-gas.
1931		B. Lubbock Bully Hayes 75: He was [...] dead nuts on a bit o’ tricky navigation.
1931		P. Singer ‘The Electric Warden’ Prison Stories Mar. 🌐 Swell wireless mast [...] Th’ warden must be nuts on radio.
1935		C. Drew ‘Buckled’ in Bulletin 29 May 48/1: They were nuts on Smiles, the local champion, too. He’d bumped off a few third-raters, it seemed.
1957		‘Neville Shute’ On the Beach 70: She’s absolutely nuts on gardening.
1961		D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 29: Giggles thought he should maybe tell them that it would be better to use the lavatory in Gill’s as the Sergeant from Fitzgibbon Street was dead nuts on that kind of thing in public.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 35: Quite a number of these very early convict terms are still with us [...] turn it up, cause or create a stink, to kid, to be nuts on.