crackpot

noun /ˈkɹæk.pɒt/

1. An eccentric, crazy or foolish person.

   informal

   Time will tell whether he is a crackpot or a genius for promoting that sort of idea.

Where it comes from

Mostly likely a back-etymology of pot, to form crack + pot. Originally, from crack + pate. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj) (< чо́каться (čókatʹsja), onomatopoeic), see crack for the further typology.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry crackpot (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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