Most offensive disability-related words

"Crazies" sounds quite normal to me, too. As nutrax said, more for people you disagree with than for people with actual mental issues (who would be "crazy people"). "On my way to the subway this morning, I first walked past a crazy person sitting on the ground and screaming at every passerby, and then by a bunch of crazies with "kill Obamacare" signs."

I thought Kerouac was talking about two people who were clearly mentally ill. That's what I meant by "such people". Kerouac, what were you talking about?

Well, you are never really sure when you don't know the people, are you? Crazies are any people who are acting weird that you want to avoid. I do not need to consult a doctor to label them that whether they are just having fun or are unable to behave normally.

I have had a number of friends whom I thought were normal and then discovered that they were stark raving mad after a certain period of time.

And I think that "stark raving mad" is an absolutely excellent (non medical) term to talk about certain people. If some people find it offensive, so be it.

So if I understand you, nutrax, shilgia, and I agree that we have never heard "crazies" used to describe the kind of people you saw on the Metro.

And back to your question: "obviously disturbed" or "apparently quite ill mentally" are two phrases that come to mind. Or I might just describe the symptoms: "One guy was barefoot, in long underwear, with a boot on his head, and the other was ranting loudly about the messages he was getting from the fillings in his teeth."

Another current descriptor for weird behavior is "off his/her meds."

I think I know where Kerouac is coming from on this one. In my neighborhood coffee bar, there are 3 guys I see frequently, who act odd. I have been known to refer to them as "the crazies" as in, a text to a friend saying "the crazies are here" etc.

I think that they're more socially awkward than actually mentally ill, but I'm not really qualified to judge. Each is odd in his own way. One may actually have some official mental issues, because he seems to be prone to paranoid-sounding rants and mutterings, but he still seems pretty functional. He's not hearing things from the fillings in his teeth, he's just smarter than the rest of us and has figured the government conspiracy out while the rest of us are just sheep. That kind of thing.

Diana, do you think that the first time you saw them you might have said "There were three crazies at the coffee shop today"? Tat's the usage that I find unidiomatic, at least in my dialect.

Crazies, nerds, dopers, geeks, freaks, etc. -- I went to college with all of them.

It's hard to say, Vinny. I don't think this usage sounds strange at all, but I need to pay attention to what words I'm thinking when I see people like that next time.

I wouldn't call them crazies if they were definitely mentally ill. But these people who seem to be functioning in society but acting very strange, well, crazies doesn't seem to be a strange word to use there.

Doctor Who would be considered a crazy by a lot of people, but he is a great guy.

I forgot "jocks" on my last list -- they were among the worst, especially when you tried to have a conversation with them about anything real. I'm not sure how much steroids were used back then, but that could explain part of it.