DCHP-2

wingy DCHP-2 (June 2016)

• adj. — informal

  crazy, flighty, loopy.

  Type: 5. Frequency — OED-3 defines wingy as a colloquial nickname for a one-armed man (s.v. "wingy" (n.), see also the 1932 quotation). Possibly there is some connection between this sense and the current Canadian sense 'crazy', since many synonyms, such as "eccentric" or the metaphoric "bent out of shape" in reference to a disturbed or angry person, do connect to a lack of balance or symmetry. As Chart 1 shows, the form is most frequent in Canada (in all meanings), which is an indicator for a Canadianism on grounds of frequency.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "wingy", which is marked "Cdn informal".