Mad as a March hare

This article is about the English idiom. For the poetry festival, see March Hare (festival). For Lewis Carroll's character, see March Hare.
A European hare

To be as "mad as a March hare" is an English idiomatic phrase derived from the observed antics, said to occur[1] only in the March breeding season of the European hare (Lepus europaeus). The phrase is an allusion that can be used to refer to any other animal or human who behaves in the excitable and unpredictable manner of a March hare.[2]

  1. ^ "Dylan Winter – Irish Hare". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  2. ^ "Mad as a March hare". UsingEnglish.com. Retrieved 2014-01-20.