October 2, 2018

Trump's word of the day yesterday: Loco.

I don't remember hearing it from him before, but I heard it twice yesterday.

1. Sparring with the press after announcing the U.S. Mexico Canada trade deal: "Oh, I think the press has treated me unbelievably unfairly. In fact, when I won I said, the good thing is now the press finally gets it. Now they’ll finally treat me fairly. They got worse! They’re worse now than ever. They’re loco, but that’s OK … I used that word because of the fact we made a deal with Mexico."

2. At a rally in Tennessee last night: "Democrats believe that they're entitled to power, and they have been... in a blind rage ever since — boy! — they lost the 2016. They've gone loco. They have gone loco. They have gone crazy."

"Loco" has been used colloquially in American English (of the western kind) since the mid-1800s, the Oxford English Dictionary tells me. The OED defines it as "Mad, insane, crazy" and says it's often used — as Trump uses it — in the phrase "to go loco." Here's the oldest example:
1852 V. S. Wortley Young Traveller's Jrnl. xx. 250 She said, she knew not what she did, but was ‘loco’ (mad) when we paid her a visit.
I looked in the 15-year archive of this blog to see if I'd ever used the word "loco" (even in a quote). I'd only said "in loco parentis" and referred to the song "The Loco-Motion" and an incident in which someone had the name "Bloody Loco." And in the context of arguing that the word "locavore" should be spelled "locovore," because the Latin root for place is "loco-" not "loca-," I speculated that the "locavores" wanted to avoid the association with the word "loco" (meaning crazy).

By the way, some people think it's wrong to make an insult out of "crazy" and words that mean crazy, because there's collateral damage to persons with mental illness. But it's so common. It would be insanely inhibiting to self-censor that one, but I did use to have many long conversations with a person who insisted on my refraining from deploying "crazy" as an insult. I know what you're thinking: He sounds crazy.

111 comments:

rhhardin said...

Loco is ablative of locus.

tcrosse said...

The correct term is "Plumb Loco", per Gabby Hayes.

Wince said...

"Who You Trying To Get Crazy With, Ese? Don't You Know I'm Loco?"

tcrosse said...

Do the Locomotion

Michael K said...

He's right. The press and the Democrats(but I repeat myself) have gone loco crazy since his election.

Curious George said...

Show me your nuts!

wendybar said...

When you are right you are right...and Donald Trump is right....they are bat shit crazy!!!

JAORE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Teddy Kennedy leaves his date to die under a bridge... while drunk.
Democrats reward him with a senate seat for life. Democrats refuse to believe or care about Bill Clinton's Sexual deviancy that includes 10 females. They slut shame the victims and run his slut-shaming wife as a presidential nominee and expect her to win.

Bret Kavanaugh was part of a bar fight...in the 1980's, and ice cubes were involved.


The left wanted Trump to face Hillary
The left got their wish.
Hillary lost because only the immature morons of CA really like her.

Reminding the left of their hypocrisy is my life's mission.


JAORE said...

"It would be insanely inhibiting..." to not say crazy.

Clever.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

By the way, some people think it's wrong to make an insult out of "crazy"...

Well, some people are retarded.

*ducks*

Larry J said...

It's easier to understand the Democrat Party when you view it as a major organized crime ring that uses politics as an enabler to commit more crime. Rhetoric aside, they use politics as a means to their ends - personal power and enrichment for the leadership. Look at the most corrupt state and local governments in the country. What do they have in common? They're ran by Democrats.

When you see things this way, it's easy to see how they've become completely unglued since the 2016 election. They almost had it all. After 8 years of Obama, the federal bureaucracy was weaponized to use against Republicans. They controlled the DoJ, so there was no way they were going to get prosecuted for anything they did. At the very worst, say Louis Lerner, they'd be allowed to retire with full government pensions and likely multiple job offers.

Then Trump was elected and all their schemes - decades in the making - were in jeopardy. Within hours of the election, they started the story about Russian collusion to try and undermine Trump at every turn. The weaponized bureaucracy worked against him. The press worked against him. And, as of yet, they've accomplished very little to stop him.

They could've had it all if it weren't for those damned deplorables, and the fact that Hillary was such an awful candidate, she couldn't win an election being rigged in her favor.

Infinite Monkeys said...

I did use to have

Use to or used to?

Henry said...

I'm suspicious of people applying psychological diagnoses as a political or social weapon. The more elaborate the diagnosis, the more skeptical I become.

Crazy doesn't make me suspicious at all.

tcrosse said...

Living La Vida Loca

Lucid-Ideas said...

Cia agent: If I restore your inhibitions, will you die?

Trump: It would be extremely painful!

Cia agent: You're a bit crazy.

Trump: For you...

Quayle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quayle said...

"It would be insanely inhibiting..."

Don't use the word insane or any derivative. It disrespects people who have lost their touch with reality.

Don't use the word inhibiting. It disrespects people who are shy or reserved or repressed.

I'm worried about your use of the word "It". Still compiling all the damage and hurt that could cause.

Sebastian said...

"It would be insanely inhibiting to self-censor that one"

What is the criterion for declaring something insane? For example, is self-censoring the use of crazy crazier than believing a woman's allegation about a high school incident because she displayed an emotional state to her husband?

AllenS said...

Once Trump is re-elected, I want him to start using swear words when he's giving speeches.

Gk1 said...

I think exchanges like this must be really dispiriting for the left. Trump routinely shits on their premises and his followers love it. Their media friends are less and less relevant with every passing week yet they have thrown everything at trump but the kitchen sink. Does anyone think they have the energy any more to track down an "expert" write an article and explain why trump shouldn't have said that or how insensitive it is for people who suffer with mental illness?

tim maguire said...

We don't formally refer to people with mental health issues as crazy. So we do not insult the mentally ill when we use the word "crazy," we insult them when we suggest people should not use the word "crazy" out of deference to them.

tcrosse said...

"Loco" is a slang expression. The technically correct term is "Whackadoodle".

traditionalguy said...

That was the Trump Train's secret word of the day. Say it and the bird comes down with real prosperity again.

But Dems Media keeps dreaming that Mueller will give life to a Russian control of Trump myth and Hillary will impeach our Commander in Chief. Now that is over the top loco.

rhhardin said...

"I did use to have"

Use to or used to?


Only one word of a verb carries tense, in this case "did." The rest is base-form.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Loco = our press is SO in the tank for one political party they refuse to interview Julie Swetnick's ex-BF who had a restraining order against her. Swetnick is all kinds of loco - and the hack(D) press are giving her the credibility she lacks. fawning over her.

MadTownGuy said...

Pam Tillis: "Mi Vida Loca".

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"They’re loco, but that’s OK … I used that word because of the fact we made a deal with Mexico.""

In the course of ordinary banter-mediocre at best. From the President of the United States in public-great, great stuff.

mccullough said...

Loco is a good insult. It’s fresh in a way crazy isn’t. And still has the same connotation of saying you think the other person is nuts but you don’t take them seriously.

It also inoculates Trump against the incessant charges that Trump is crazy. They call Trump crazy, he calls them Loco.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Is loco cultural appropriation?

buwaya said...

The press are not actually loco.
And I’m sure Trump knows that.
This all is a well organized propaganda operation.
There are individuals who may be loco indeed, and there may be quite a lot of them, but they aren’t running anything.

jwl said...

A good friend of mine is super sensitive about words like crazy or retarded because his older brother has multiple mental problems. I remember one time I used the word retarded to describe a situation, not a specific person, and I got a five minute lecture on why that word is problematic.

Amadeus 48 said...

So let’s talk about How to Marry a Millionaire. Was Loco Dempsey loco? What were her prospects with that name? Would you want a roommate named “Loco”? Does she sound like fun? Does she sound tiresome? Would she thow ice at someone in a bar?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Trump is definitely enjoying himself. Good to see.

jwl said...

buwaya - I think many journalists are loco. I remember watching election night on TV when Trump won presidency and most of the journos said they were going to have to increase their dosage of Xanax.

Nonapod said...

The press are not actually loco.

More accurately, the people behind the press aren't loco. Individual journalists, commentators, and reporters may indeed be crazy. But it's hard to know how much is an act and how much is genuine mental instability.

It's war. Loco is a tactic. But it remains to be seen how effective going berzerk (or appearing to go berzerk at least) is actually persuasive or not. Crazy behavior may appeal to a base, but does it actually win over fence sitters?

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"Loca" is just as crazy as "loco".

SeanF said...

jwl: A good friend of mine is super sensitive about words like crazy or retarded because his older brother has multiple mental problems. I remember one time I used the word retarded to describe a situation, not a specific person, and I got a five minute lecture on why that word is problematic.

My son is autistic. I don't countenance people insulting or making fun of him, but that's regardless of the specific words they use. I don't object to any of the words themselves, as long as they're not being degradingly directed at him.

That being said, there have been times when he was being annoyingly weird and my wife or I actually told him, "Stop acting retarded."

Andrew said...

I had a friend who was visiting his mother in the hospital. He was talking with her, and mentioned that something was "retarded." A woman in the hallway overheard him and walked into their room. She started berating my friend because she had a "special needs" child. This gave her authority to shout at my friend in his mother's hospital room. She went on and on about how evil the word "retarded" was. My friend apologized (mainly just to stop the conflict which might aggravate his mother). The woman walked out after finishing her diatribe.

Screw these people. Vote Trump.

Michael K said...


Blogger jwl said...
A good friend of mine is super sensitive about words like crazy or retarded


When I was dealing with psychotic patients many years ago, the word they used to describe themselves when they were actively psychotic was "crazy." That, of course, was before all the PC word rules.

robother said...

Growing up on the High Plains, you learned not to let your horse graze on loco-weed when riding trails.

I'm Full of Soup said...

The press is loco to the extent their groupthink makes them react like a Hive Mind in unison to every Trump news factoid. Liberalism is most definitely a mental disorder where you think you are way smarter and way wiser and way more informed than your political opponent. Think about the news guy [was Bob Schieffer] who claimed he did not know Obama was a smoker. That was either a lie or he was clueless.

traditionalguy said...

Trump could be experimenting with calling Senator Warren Locohontas, the better to get her to go on the war path.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Retard is a legitimate word and can also be used for people.

In automotive terms, you "retard the spark" or adjust the timing of the engine to make the combustion (spark) happen earlier or later. This is a very common procedure. The most famous engine retarder is the Jake Brake. It was designed to open and close the exhaust valves very late to use the pressure from the engine in an attempt to retard the engine. This was done so that large machinery and semi trucks could come to a more quick and even stop

If your child is retarded....it means he/she is slower in advancement compared to the norm. Live with it.

Qwinn said...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words are so so so much worse!"

Fernandinande said...

ugly : smelly :: crazy : retarded

tcrosse said...

"Retarded" has an extra pungency when spoken with a Boston accent:"Retaaaahded".

Susan said...

All the Democrats had to do was not go loco. They couldn't even manage that.

Susan said...
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Susan said...
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Susan said...
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Fabi said...

"Locohontas" Stealing that one with attribution!

Meade said...

"and I got a five minute lecture on why that word is problematic."

5 minutes seems a bit... mental.

narciso said...

Illustrating the point:

http://thefederalist.com/2018/10/02/ryan-lizzas-hit-piece-on-devin-nunes-extended-family-is-deeply-flawed/

Fernandinande said...

In automotive terms, you "retard the spark" ... on the short bus.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words are so so so much worse!"

"But scientifically speaking, it’s not that simple."

"Words can ...make you sick, alter your brain — even kill neurons — and shorten your life."

Those words are pretty cool! I gonna get me some of 'em and save 'em up to say to a mugger and he'll go crazy and die because short life!

Jess said...

I prefer the term: "Crazier than an outhouse rat"; and wish Trump would use it, instead of loco.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

perhaps Trump will help restore what the locos have eaten

Meade said...

The term should be "temporally challenged." I want to know when schools will stop reporting TARDiness. It's hurtful.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Whatever word Trump uses, it will trigger the snowflakes and force them into a pussy hate wearing protest on the street with the hivemind.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

@meade
the apostrophe causes a catastrophe

Meade said...

Possession is only 9 tenth of the law of grammar.

Rae said...

By the way, some people think it's wrong to make an insult out of "crazy" and words that mean crazy, because there's collateral damage to persons with mental illness.

It's more polite than calling them Minions of Satan, which is generally more accurate.

gg6 said...

I use the word "moron" a lot....maybe too-much-a-lot, and I do sometimes get a sort of nervous glance but never actual comments. But doesn't Culture/Society 'self-censor' all the time? Is anyone "handicapped" anymore? NO, they're "challenged"! How's THAT for 'surreal'?

Meade said...
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tcrosse said...

Let us not forget "Nutty as a fruitcake". Trump might want to keep that one in his quiver.

Meade said...

I play golf with a cripple and he beats me every time, even though my handicap is quite high. Hurts my feelings but he never seems to care.

Hagar said...

Joana la Loca.

Fernandinande said...

Boron = boring moron.

The moron was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davies of the Kinks.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

you can be tardy, but not 'tardy

gnome sane?

Michael K said...


Blogger Meade said...
I play golf with a cripple and he beats me every time


My former golf partner told me to "watch out for the guy with the bad swing. He has adapted and he will beat you every time."

Don't give him any strokes.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

It's more polite than calling them Minions of Satan, which is generally more accurate.

"Satan's Lapdancers" also works in a pinch

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

...force them into a pussy hate wearing protest Cool Freudian Slip!

"LOVE TRUMPS HAT"

Big Mike said...

“Loco” is not an exact synonym for crazy. The word “loco” carries with it the connotation of drooling, slobbering, out-of-control crazy. Hence Trump is clearly using it correctly.

Curious George said...

I guess the will have to come out with the Hot vs Loco Matrix - a Man's Guide to Women

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

when they
go Loco we go
Haiku

gg6 said...

My favorite coffee cup has my motto on it: "I am not Weird. I am Limited Edition." Am I just another self-censor?

stevew said...

"Retarded" has an extra pungency when spoken with a Boston accent:"Retaaaahded".

Especially when as typically deployed with a hearty f-bomb modifier.

-sw

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Unknown said...

"Retard" is only an insult to those who are not retarded.

The word was used in 1960s school books as was mongoloid. I still use those terms, but not to those afflicted. I call them by their first names.

mezzrow said...

You've also got your loco moco, but that's just dinner in Hawaii with an egg on top. Sounds nasty in Spanish, but you can ignore that if you try.

Carry on.

tim maguire said...

SeanF said...That being said, there have been times when he was being annoyingly weird and my wife or I actually told him, "Stop acting retarded."

I have a cousin with Down Syndrome and her family's just like that. The real truth is, we treat them as normal when we insult them the way we would anybody. When we start policing our words to "protect" them, that's when we demean them.

bagoh20 said...

Juan Williams, who I rarely agree with, said today about the Kavanaugh situation that "we are all being gas lighted", which seems right to me. Not all of us, but certainly many who have had their mooring blown loose by the hurricane of bullshit can no longer figure out what is likely true and what is obvious lies. Now the slightest breeze blows them off course and into strange dangerous reefs where they will grab at anything to turn them back at their former standards, so they grasp at any flotsom that passes near, but it's not working.

Curious George said...

I've always liked "Corky" and "Shortbus"

bagoh20 said...

"we treat them as normal when we insult them the way we would anybody. When we start policing our words to "protect" them, that's when we demean them."

Exactly! And that's true of all our protected classes. For example: I'm white, but I'm not insulted when you call someone a "racist".

Bay Area Guy said...

Mujer loca con muchos gatos!

bagoh20 said...

I'm also not personally insulted when someone is called "a dick" in my presence.

rhhardin said...

News reports that Chris Coons is calling on the White House for a fulsome investigation.

Narayanan said...

Loco indicates agency while crazy is mere description?

Comanche Voter said...

My great grandfathker was one of the early drovers on the Chisholm Trail after the Civil War--taking cattle from Lockhart Texas to either Kansas (for the railhead stockyards) or Wyoming to sell to the military.

He knew not to let the herds graze on Jimson Weed aja "Loco Weed".

It seems to me that numbers of the NYT and WaPo writers have been dining on Jimson Weed salad at lunch these days.

Howard said...

In loco parentis

JAORE said...

I have come to believe that Dr. Ford is nuttier than a squirrel turd.

And that she's saner than the others that have come forward.

Yancey Ward said...

The infantry can be loco- think suicide bombers, pussy-hatters, and Antifa. The officer corp, however, are not loco.

Yancey Ward said...

"Trump could be experimenting with calling Senator Warren Locohontas"

Traditionalguy,

I will remember you when this becomes meme!

bbear said...

Dust Bunny Queen wrote:
in automotive terms, you "retard the spark" or adjust the timing of the engine to make the combustion (spark) happen earlier or later. This is a very common procedure.

You're right about advancing and retarding the spark, which after its initial setting was classically done automatically by weights in the distributor (centrifugal advance) and a small diaphragm (vacuum advance), and in modern cars is controlled electronically.

But just to clarify the Jake Brake a bit. The idea is that with spark-ignited engines, when you take your foot off the gas the throttle plate closes, so cylinder pressures are low on one side of the pistons and higher on the other; that differential helps slow the vehicle. But diesels have no throttle plate, so cylinder pressures remain high even at idle (which is why diesels love turbocharging). By allowing the driver to open the exhaust valve(s), the Jake Brake creates a cylinder pressure differential like that in spark-ignited engines to help slow the vehicle. A life-saver for big trucks on steep grades.

MSG said...

The Whigs referred to the Democrats as the "locos."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_NjnOieCBM

Achilles said...

Democrats are coming to the realization that they have lost Heidtkamp, McCaskill and Manchin.

The media is allowing some polls to be reported and they are not even close.

I wonder if the people who own the media/democrat party wrote them off months ago.

wholelottasplainin said...

You think I'm crazy
A matter of fact
I go for you
And that is that
Just be my darling
I'm so in love
We go together
Like fingers and glove

And when you call my name
Just call me insane
Poco loco
A little crazy

"Poco Loco", by Gene & Eunice

gilbar said...

The GOOD NEWS is; thanx to the EMD 1010 engine, Electro-Motive Diesel is sell Locos again!
specifically, the SD70ACe-T4 Just when you thought that you'd have to keep using your SD80MAC for another twenty years, the good folks in LaGrange have conquered the EPA regs with a new Tier 4 emissions standards-compliant prime mover!!!!

EMD 12-1010 - a V12 with 1010 cu.in displacement for each cylinder. This new prime mover has a two-stage turbocharger system consisting of three turbos; one turbo (the primary/high pressure turbo) for low-mid RPM and two turbos (the secondary/low pressure turbos) for mid-high RPM. The results of this setup are higher power throughout a broader RPM range, better fuel efficiency, and lower emissions. An EGR system is applied as well, allowing the engine to achieve Tier 4 without the use of urea aftertreatment. Another new feature of this engine is the Double-Walled Fuel Injection System that increases safety and provides simplified maintenance works. This new engine is capable of producing 4,600 hp

Earnest Prole said...

Althouse is my favorite locotion for wacky etymology.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"we are all being gas lighted"?

We're all Ingrid Bergman in an abusive relationship with Charles Boyer? I'm sure that's the way liberals think of themselves.

"Gaslighting" is really just the Leftist way of saying there are still unauthorized opinions that haven't yet been stamped out.

n.n said...

Trump is using loco in the sense of repeating the same action and hoping for a different outcome. This is Democrats' second catastrophic anthropogenic warlock hunt in less than 8 trimesters. At this point, they're better off hunting Stork. Their elusive God of babies, who delivers at her convenience.

Bad Lieutenant said...


But Dems Media keeps dreaming that Mueller will give life to a Russian control of Trump myth and Hillary will impeach our Commander in Chief. Now that is over the top loco.

10/2/18, 8:49 AM


Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Hillary Chappaqua wgah'nagl fhtagn.

tcrosse said...

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Hillary Chappaqua wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Do these tentacles make my ass look fat?

Bilwick said...

In other news of the loco, champion presidential State-shtupper Barack Obama has endorsed socialist Alexandria ("Crazy Eyes") Ocasio-Cortez in her race. But for the love of God, whatever you do, do NOT call him a socialist! That would be reactionary and racist. Also (in the words of one of Obama's heroes, attorney Jackie Chiles) "outrageous, egregious, preposterous!"

n.n said...

Republican Lawmakers Under Attack: Sen. McConnell Harassed by Anti-Kavanaugh Activists

Three anti-Kavanaugh activists walked alongside Sen. McConnell demanding he explain whether he believes women who make allegations of sexual assault.

Stalking, harassing, assault, occupying... warlock hunts and baby trials. Loco.

The tell-tale hearts beat ever louder.

mikee said...

A useful rule my spouse, a physician, taught me: If you have a conversation with people and come away feeling crazy, thinking that the conversation was not quite sensible, and you aren't normally crazy, it is the other people who are.

Michael K said...

Three anti-Kavanaugh activists walked alongside Sen. McConnell demanding he explain whether he believes women who make allegations of sexual assault.

He is going to need his wife to escort him until after the vote. She chased away the loonies that tried to harass them before.

Seriously, somebody is going to get seriously hurt or killed by a left wing whack job.

We are approaching Timothy McVeigh levels of rage on the left.

chickelit said...

Garth costumes are quickly selling out this year for Halloween. Interest is strong amongst college aged-males - especially at fraternities.

chickelit said...

“In other news of the loco, champion presidential State-shtupper Barack Obama has endorsed socialist Alexandria ("Crazy Eyes") Ocasio-Cortez in her race.”

This has nothing to do with race. Barack just has an eye for women of color — he practically slobbered over Kamala Harris. Put yourself in his flip flops — can you blame him?

Beldar said...

It surprises me that your time in Austin hasn't acquainted you with this word. The city motto, of course, is "Keep Austin Weird," and that's not far from loco.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

In Mexico City the police were called to a domestic dispute. The argumentative couple were brought before a magistrate.

The husband explained "Yo lo coloco y ella lo quita." To which the wife responded "No, yo lo coloco y el lo quita."

The argument continued, growing more animated as each repeated their declamation with increasing vehemence. Eventually the exasperated judge ordered them both committed for mental evaluation.

They were arguing about the placement of a living room chair.