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doolally

(by extension) Carried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.

duːˈlæli145 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
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#1·Apr 27, 2026

(by extension) Carried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.

"When you've got any God's amount of brains," said Frobisher, "you can pretend to be doolally;"
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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(originally, military slang) Eccentric; insane, mad.

"Will you write me an Essay on Corsets?" / "On what?" I asked incredulously—knowing that he had been a distinguished soldier, and suspecting that he had suddenly developed what the soldiers describe as "a touch of the doolally."
Origin: From doolally tap, with doolally interpreted as an . Doolally is derived from the Deolali transit camp, a former British army camp about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Bombay, India, used as a transit station for soldiers awaiting transport back to Britain; while tap is from or , ultimately from. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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