THE MAD HATTER
Alice in Wonderland
Project Gutenberg ©
"Mad as a Hatter" - A phrase popularized by Lewis Carroll in
Alice in Wonderland (1865). It is found in Thackeray's Pendeniis
(1860) and is recorded in America in 1836. Mercurous nitrate
was used in the making of felt hats and its effect can produce
St Vitus's Dance or lesser tremulous manifestations, hence the
likely origin of the phrase.
Source: Brewers Dictionary of Phrase & Fable
