text: what does "stark raving" mean?   g'day ohligc,  thank you for your question.  stark raving mad is normally the phrase although stark raving is used as an alternative. it means completely insane as in a person talking to himself or raving. stark mad was first used by the poet john skelton in 1489. playwright john beaumont first used the term stark raving in 1648 while john dryden first described someone as stark staring mad. henry fielding first used the term stark raving mad in 1734.  regards