気が触 (ki ga fu(reru): to go mad)
誰かがペンとかクリップのことで神経質になってきたら、それは気が触れ出したという立派な前触れである。
Dareka ga pen toka kurippu no koto de shinkeishitsu ni natte kitara, sore wa ki ga furedashita to iu rippana maebure de aru.
When someone becomes neurotic about pens and paper clips, it’s a sure sign they’re cracking up.誰か (dareka: someone)
神経質 (shinkeishitsu: nervousness, (being) highly strung, neuroticism) mind + to pass through + temperament
-出 (-da(su): to produce)
立派 (rippa: sure, legitimate, unquestionable)Halpern calls the two kanji in this compound “unclassified.” I haven’t quite figured out what that means, but it may relate to the fact that no breakdown comes close to matching the definition of 立派. By the way, 立派 has many meanings, including “fine, excellent, admirable, prominent.”
前触れ (maebure: harbinger, portent) before + to feel
Look, look! The kanji 触 showed up twice in this sentence, and it took me forever to realize that! Moreover, 前触れ is a really cool compound. A portent enables you to feel that an event is about to happen.
