That's worth investigation at least, so let's have a go. Perhaps 'marbles' meant 'mind' or 'wits' before 'lose one's marbles' was coined. The point is that the person in question has, as in another earlier variant, 'a bit missing'. The expression has now been shortened to simply 'losing it'. It is American, but originated in the late 19th century, not the 1950s. Bogart's performance was so affecting that many have supposed the film to be the source of the phrase. Queeg, restlessly jiggling a set of metal balls when under stress in court. In the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny Humphrey Bogart linked insanity with marbles when he showed his character, the demented Lt. To 'lose one's marbles' is to lose one's mind. What's the origin of the phrase 'Lose your marbles'? Stupidity What's the meaning of the phrase 'Lose your marbles'?.
