crackpot:

(plural: ‘crackpots‘; both the ‘c’ in this word are said with a ‘k’ sound)

a person with very strange, foolish or mad ideas, especially a highly educated and intelligent person with bizarre ideas;

a nut case; a nut; a crank,

a crackpot — a crazy scientist

e.g.

This scientist is a crackpot; he is a crackpot scientist.

Some popular ‘crackpots’ from the Hollywood films/movies: Professor Wayne Szalinski in “Honey, I shrunk the kids”; Professor Sherman Kump in ‘The Nutty Professor”; Dr. Brachish Okun in ‘Independence Day”; Dr. Raymond Stantz in “Ghost Busters”; and Dr. Emmett Brown in ‘Back to the Future”.

Every scientist or philosopher who comes up with a new theory which certainly sounds strange or even crazy just because it is new is called a crackpot until all of a sudden his/her theory is proven right, and he/she becomes a celebrity overnight!

For an interesting blog post where you can find out whether you are a crackpot, please click here, for an article/news item that shows how we come upon this word in our daily reading, please click here, and for a post on a forum that a particular crackpot theory by a crackpot, please click here.

About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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