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You are here: Home / Language / What Does “Hare Brained Scheme” Mean and Where Did the Expression Come From?

What Does “Hare Brained Scheme” Mean and Where Did the Expression Come From?

July 23, 2020 by Karen Hill

The adjective hare-brained usually refers to a plan or action that is unexplainably preposterous.

If there is any confusion about this word’s meaning, it lies in the sixteenth-century dual spelling as both harebrained and hair-brained.

In any case, the word is a reference to the wildly odd mating season practices of hares, which are so bizarre that they are the origins of the expression “mad as a march hare.”

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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