out to lunch

Idioms and Phrases

Not in touch with the real world, crazy; also, inattentive. For example, If he believes that story, he's really out to lunch , or Anne hasn't heard a word you said—she's out to lunch . This expression transfers a temporary physical absence for the purpose of eating to a temporary or permanent mental absence. [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

Related Words

• dull
• dumb
• foolish
• futile
• ill-advised
• irrelevant
• laughable
• ludicrous
• naive
• senseless
• shortsighted
• simple
• trivial