Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to drive crazy, insane.

1919		Indianapolis Star (IN) 15 June 70/5: ‘Did you,’ he asked [...] ‘I did,’ I acknowledged, ‘and it drove me nuts’.
1928		Monroe News-Star (Monroe, LA) 12 Oct. 5/7: I ripped [the curtain] down my first day. Got in my way. Drove me nuts.
1933		N. West ‘Miss Lonelyhearts’ in Coll. Works (1975) 266: All I have to do is point to some big guy and say, ‘Gee, I’d love to have him love me up.’ It drives him nuts.
1940		F.S. Fitzgerald ‘Teamed with Genius’ in Pat Hobby Stories (1967) 73: It’s enough to drive you nuts.
1956		J. Curtis Look Long Upon a Monkey 59: Nothing’s so certain to drive them nuts as the far-famed playing hard to get.
1962		H.S. Thompson letter 16 Feb. in Proud Highway (1997) 322: I think it would drive Beverly nuts.
1989		Rolling Stones ‘Mixed Emotions’ 🎵 This to-ing and fro-ing / Is driving me nuts.
1993		L. Rodríguez Always Running (1996) 45: We drove the teachers nuts.
1999		Observer Rev. 27 June 4: It’s driving me nuts.
2000		G. Pelecanos Shame the Devil 59: The remote always seemed to be missing when he got downstairs, and that drove him nuts.

to lose emotional control, to go crazy; to make a fuss.

1908		Hopper & Bechdolt ‘9009’ (1909) 65: ‘What’s got into me?’ whispered 9009; ‘am I going nuts?’.
1929		W.R. Burnett Little Caesar (1932) 67: He gets a little money and he goes nuts.
1930		(con. 1900s–10s) Dos Passos 42nd Parallel in USA (1966) 107: This way he was going nuts.
1940		H.G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood 354: While I have been a special case for mental treatment, it seems odd that Old England, generally speaking, has gone nuts .
1964		H. Selby Jr Last Exit to Brooklyn 155: The union oughtta give yaone so yawont go nuts just sittin around here doin nothing.
1978		L. Kramer Faggots 334: I’m going nuts seeing you with everyone else!
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 14: When I told Cal what had happened and described the woman’s lifestyle, he went nuts.
1996		P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] Vin’s idea was that Danny might go nuts and nail Scullin for him.
2000		Z. Smith White Teeth 22: Unless he was really going nuts, Archie saw that come hither look.
2002		(con. 1998–2000) J. Lerner You Got Nothing Coming 23: The bench dawgs, of course, go nuts at the sight of a suit — not to mention my corporate-issue black wing tips.
2012		T. Piccirilli Last Kind Words 137: ‘Mal, people who are going nuts don’t think they’re going nuts’.
2020		D. Winslow ‘Sunset’ in Broken 212: For a third [reason] he’s going nuts.
2024		C. Stella Joey Piss Pot 7: ‘He hates me as it is, but now he’s going nuts’.

hysterically.

1952		W. Winchell On Broadway 8 Aug. [synd. col.] Pittsburgher Eugenie Baird [...] yelling like nuts when the Pirates took that double-header from the Gyntz.
1961		J. Kirkwood There Must Be a Pony! 62: We drove off, waving and hollering goodbyes and carrying on like nuts.

obsessed with, usu. in the context of love.

1912		Mansfield (OH) News 7 Dec. 10(?)/3: The Clean Language League of America, which is plum nuts about being dead set against slang [etc.].
1912		Day Book (Chicago) 8 May 12/1: One fair thing was ‘nuts’ over Percy.
1915		R. Lardner ‘Harmony’ in Coll. Short Stories (1941) 187: He went so nuts over it [i.e. harmonizing] that he got Mike to come and room in the same house with him.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 93: He’s Nuts about Flowers and keeps a fresh Bouquet on his Desk all the time.
1920		R. Lardner Big Town iii: The woman’s nuts over me.
1930		E. Glyn Flirt and Flapper 41: Here comes a new boy-friend who’s just nuts over me.
1933		C. Himes ‘Prison Mass’ in Coll. Stories (1990) 165: Funny, he philosophized, how he had gone nuts over Chicken. [Ibid.] ‘His Last Day’ 293: A frail [...] whom he had gone nuts over the night before.
1936		R. Chandler ‘Goldfish’ in Red Wind (1946) 170: You might be able to ease in on the goldfish angle. They say he’s nuts about them.
1947		I. Shulman Amboy Dukes 90: I’m nuts about you.
1958		E. Dundy Dud Avocado (1960) 149: There’s a great big Canadian around the Left Bank who’s nuts about you.
1963		(con. 1944) L. Glassop Rats in New Guinea 17: Smiler’s nuts about cricket.
1987		(con. 1930s) L. Redmond Emerald Square 143: It was widely known among the observant women that Sloppy Molly was nuts about her father’s new assistant.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We have No 210: Abdul is nuts about her.
2000		W. Shaw Westsiders 56: Khop, meanwhile, is obviously nuts about Trey.
2008		R. Price Lush Life 111: ‘This stinks,’ Matty said again. ‘I’m not nuts about it either,‘ Flaherty said.

1. to wander around aimlessly.

1947

N. Algren Neon Wilderness (1986) 77: ‘What was Kodadek doin’ the last time you seen him?’ ‘You mean Dropkick? He was nutsin’ around.’.

2. to mess about, to fool around.

1942

N. Algren Never Come Morning (1988) 23: They wouldn’t have no good place to nuts around, like us guys.

obsessed with, in love with, gratified or pleased with.

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: The blowen was nutts upon the Kiddey because he is well-hung; the girl is pleased with the youth because his genitals are large.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 255: nuts upon it to be very much pleased or gratified with any object, adventure, or overture; so a person who conceives a strong inclination for another of the opposite sex, is said to be quite nutty, or nuts upon him or her. nuts upon yourself a man who is much gratified with any bargain he has made, narrow escape he has had, or other event in which he is interested, will express his self-satisfaction or gladness by declaring that he is, or was, quite nuts upon himself.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].
1833		Satirist (London) 20 Jan. 445/1: Gloucester, who is nuts upon his knowledge of the game, was one of the party.
1859		G.A. Sala Gaslight and Daylight 243: A lady down Kensington wot was werry nuts upon poodles.
1862		Cork Examiner 28 Mar. 4/3: Johnny and Gregory were nuts on their pet, the Pup .
1877		Five Years’ Penal Servitude 288: Davies was ‘dead nuts’ upon cutting men’s hair.