buck-wild
photo credit: "Dirty Dancing" by Crystal Marie Lopez (CC BY-ND 2.0) Definition: (adjective) intense, crazy, without inhibitions
Example:With his parents gone for the weekend, Ted threw a buck-wild party at his house and ended up in jail.
Quote:
"I feel blessed and I've learned so much. I just wanted to make a record where people can forget their troubles and go buck-wild."
This expression comes from the mating season, when the buck (male
deer) begins to act irrationally, often fighting other bucks for a
hot (sexy) doe (female deer). A nice complement to this expression
is buck naked - completely nude. Since we also say as naked
as a jay-bird, you'd be tempted to think this expression came about
the same way - "as naked as a buck." However, most references
see this as a variation on synonyms butt-naked and bare-naked,
without any obvious relationship to forest wildlife.
On the other hand, there seems to be a connection between the animal and
buck (dollar). In the 1700s buckskins (male deer hides) were commonly
used in trade between Native Americans and European settlers. The term
was eventually shortened and changed its meaning with the change in currency.
Some word histories see buck as a shortened form of sawbuck - old-fashioned
slang for a ten-dollar bill - but I think it's more romantic to think
of myself as a backwoods trader when I buy a subway token.
A. C. Kemp | February 6, 2003
