unhinged ˌən-ˈhinjd adjective
: affected with madness or insanity
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The word unhinged has appeared in 146 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Aug. 28 in “At a ‘Dinner With Ghosts,’ Everything Is Art” by Kate Guadagnino:
Following a few other courses — halibut ceviche presented on foot-shaped pedestals by Party, spatchcock quail atop face-like plates by Wine — the waiters cleared a long, narrow path across the table. The consensus was that some sort of well-trained creature, whether a rabbit, a cockroach or a python, would make its way from one end to the other. In the end, it was Costanzo, who removed his jacket and shoes before stepping onto the table and crooning the first spellbinding notes of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.” As he sang, he tiptoed between crystal glasses and threw handfuls of caramel corn in the direction of people’s dessert plates. “There’s always something kind of unhinged about characters in the opera, so it felt pretty natural,” said Costanzo, though he added that he was worried about the color of his socks, which were cerulean.
