|
Reader question: Please explain this sentence: “He clearly is off his rocker and not very reasonable.” What rocker? My comments: Rocker here does not refer to a rock and roller singer, but a rocking chair. At least originally, at least, that is, according to one theory. The rocking chair, you see, is the cozy place or position someone is comfortably in, literally. If you’ve ever sit in one you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, how comfy a rocking chair is. By gently rocking to and fro, forward and backward, sitting in a rocking chair is a great way to relax and calm down. Of course, if you rock and swing wildly, the chair becomes unstable and you may fall out of the chair all together. Well, rocking chairs are thus built it’s very difficult for anyone, no matter how wildly you rock it, to fall out of it crashing to the floor fact first but you get the idea. To fall off of one’s rocking chair suggests, literally that you are falling out of control. It makes easy sense, doesn’t it? Hence and therefore, by extension and figuratively speaking, if we say someone is off his or her rocker, we mean to say they’re out of control, out of control of their emotions, out of their mind. In other words, they’re mad, mad and nutty, nutty and crazy, emotionally unstable. In our example, that’s exactly what the speaker means when he or she points out that “He” is off his chair. That’s why he is “not very reasonable”. He’s having mood swings and is not his usual self, not his usual and calm self, calm and comfortable as though he’s rocking gently in a rocking chair. | 
