to take leave of one's senses
3
8.8
- idiom
- Literature
:
perder el juicio
- The doctor's first thought was that she had taken leave of her senses, that the whole trip was an elaborate simulator hoax, and that her wild imaginings were all paranoid fantasies.
Examples
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Have you completely taken leave of your senses by trying to climb that dangerous cliff?
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When he suggested we drive through the storm, I realized he had taken leave of his senses.
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have you both taken leave of your senses?
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Have you all taken leave of your senses?
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Have you taken leave of your senses?
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Has everyone taken leave of their senses?
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Father must have taken leave of his senses or lost track of which car he was driving.
Fiction book (1993) -
She has obviously taken leave of her senses in jail.
-
And if you haven't yet taken leave of your senses, you know our nation is beset with big problems.
Blog text (7) -
I don't know whether your 3:07 comment was a joke or whether you have completely taken leave of your senses.
Blog text (3)
Synonyms
15
8.1
Suddenly act in a very emotional and out of control way
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
take + leave + of + one's + sense
The phrase literally composes 'take' + 'leave' (depart) + 'one's senses' (judgment), so the idea of one's senses 'departing' is metaphorically accessible and parallels common 'lose one's senses' constructions in other languages. However, the formal phrasing 'take leave of' is less frequent and somewhat archaic, so a B1 learner who knows the words may only partially infer the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom take leave of one's senses comes from the image of your senses taking leave and walking away, like someone leaving the room so your reason is gone. That's why it means 'to act without reason' or 'to behave foolishly'.