out to lunch

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

out to lunch

1. Away eating lunch or for a midday break; especially, away from work or a job.

   She's out to lunch right now, but you may leave her a note.

2. (idiomatic, informal) Clueless, inattentive, or careless.

   After he drove with his turn signal on for five miles, I was pretty sure he was out to lunch.

   • 1979, Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

     Zaphod Beeblebrox, adventurer, ex-hippy, good-timer, (crook? quite possibly), manic self-publicist, terribly bad at personal relationships, often thought to be completely out to lunch.

   • 2002, “Along Came a Biter”, in Temporary Forever, performed by Busdriver:

     But then along came this biter / And he was so out of touch / So completely self indulgent / Just so out to lunch

Usage notes

• May also be used as an adverb.