Goes Berserk

[GoodTaste]

Is the expression "goes berserk" specifically British? I guess that in US it would be "goes mad" or "goes crazy". I am not sure.

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Swearing Parrot Goes Berserk After Owner Destroys Cage

Source: Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...r_destroys/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x

 

[Yankee]

"Berserk". In the U.S., more likely in print than in conversation.

 

[teechar]

I'm pretty sure it's common in most, if not all, varieties of contemporary English.

 

[GoesStation]

Is the expression "goes berserk" specifically British? I guess that in US it would be "goes mad" or "goes crazy". I am not sure.

It's common in written American English. It's used in the spoken language, but much less than goes crazy. We rarely use the British expression goes mad.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It's common in casual American conversation. It's more extreme and violent than crazy, bonkers, and nuts.

It's usually used in the past tense: When someone stole his guitar, he went berserk.

 

[Tdol]

Berserk is the perfect word for that parrot. :shock:

 

[GoodTaste]

Berserk is the perfect word for that parrot. :shock:

Why? Why is "goes berserk" better than "goes crazy" in this context?

 

[GoesStation]

Why? Why is "goes berserk" better than "goes crazy" in this context?

What do you find when you look up berserk and crazy in a dictionary?

 

[GoodTaste]

What do you find when you look up berserk and crazy in a dictionary?

Nothing special there. It shows the limitation of dictionaries. You can't tell from definitiones which is perfect.

ber•serk
adj.
violently or destructively frenzied;
wild;
crazed;
deranged:
He suddenly went berserk.

crazy:
adj.
mentally deranged;
demented;
insane.

 

[GoesStation]

Nothing special there. It shows the limitation of dictionaries. You can't tell from definitiones which is perfect.

ber•serk
adj.
violently or destructively frenzied;
wild;
crazed;
deranged:
He suddenly went berserk.

crazy:
adj.
mentally deranged;
demented;
insane.

What are the first three lines of the berserk definition? Do you see them in the other one? Do they suggest that the bird was more than merely crazy?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

"Berserk". In the U.S., more likely in print than in conversation.

I hear it more often than I read it.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Why? Why is "goes berserk" better than "goes crazy" in this context?

See post #5.

 

[emsr2d2]

I hear it more often than I read it.

That was clearly the case with one of my friends who had only heard it before trying to write it down. She had a stab at it and spelled it "buzurque"!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

That was clearly the case with one of my friends who had only heard it before trying to write it down. She had a stab at it and spelled it "buzurque"!

I like the way she thinks.