Help with English: "Maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably"

[Fraggle Rocker]

mad, swivel-eyed loons = very insane?

It's an insult, not a description. People are always trying to invent new insults that are more colorful than the old ones. He's just calling them "crazy" because they don't happen to agree with him.

I'm not even sure what a "Eurosceptic" is supposed to be. (We would spell it "Euroskeptic" in the USA.) Is he referring to Britons who believe that the U.K. should secede from the EU (European Union)? Or to Britons who don't want the UK to adopt the Euro as its currency? I don't know enough about British politics to figure it out.

[Saint]

what is "swivel-eyed loons" ?

[IncogNegro]

what is "swivel-eyed loons" ?

The man who sits at the bar by himself watching everyone else while pretending to do something on his phone.

[Fraggle Rocker]

what is "swivel-eyed loons" ?

Loons comprise several species of aquatic birds native to the Northern Hemisphere that subsist by catching fish. They have webbed feet like ducks and geese, making them good swimmers but clumsy walkers. In general their behavior on land is considered a bit humorous, so "loon" has become a mild insult meaning "a person who acts a bit daffy"--and often said in jest rather than hostility. "Looney" is the adjective derived from that noun and is (at least in America) more commonly used as an insult than the noun itself. Bugs Bunny, and many of our other famous cartoon characters such as Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety, were introduced in Warner Brothers cartoons titled "Looney Tunes."

This use of "loon" and "looney" is reinforced by it also being a shortened form of "lunatic."

I think "swivel-eyed" is a reference to the exaggerated expressions of cartoon characters. Their pupils can rotate in opposite directions, which real people can't do. It makes them look crazy or "looney."

The loon is a very common and beloved bird in Canada. Their one-dollar coin has the image of a loon, and they call it the "loonie." "Loonie" has become a common synonym for a dollar, like "buck" in the USA. They talk about how the Loonie is faring on the international currency exchanges.

[Sarkus]

This use of "loon" and "looney" is reinforced by it also being a shortened form of "lunatic."

In the UK we only really know of the word being a shortened form of "lunatic". When we use the word it therefore means more that the person is a tad crazy, or has done something a crazy person might do.
That's not to say we don't often see such as being possibly humorous, silly, laughable, etc, but that's not why we would use the term "looney".
When we think of "Looney Tunes" we therefore think it's in reference to their "mad" / "crazy" antics than any possible reference to aquatic birds.

[Fraggle Rocker]

When we think of "Looney Tunes" we therefore think it's in reference to their "mad" / "crazy" antics than any possible reference to aquatic birds.

Sure, the cartoons are now arguably the primary referent for the slang word. We use it generically (violating the copyright with every utterance): "Who came up with this looney-tunes attempt at a spreadsheet?"

Do you not have loons in the U.K.? In America we're just as likely to say, "He's crazy as a loon," and we call those people "looney birds." It's not used for people who are actually insane or have other clinical issues, just a casual insult without much rancor.

[Sarkus]

Sure, the cartoons are now arguably the primary referent for the slang word. We use it generically (violating the copyright with every utterance): "Who came up with this looney-tunes attempt at a spreadsheet?"

In the UK the primary referent remains "lunatic".

Do you not have loons in the U.K.? In America we're just as likely to say, "He's crazy as a loon," and we call those people "looney birds." It's not used for people who are actually insane or have other clinical issues, just a casual insult without much rancor.

We may have loons, but if so 99% of the population (and I include myself among them) have no idea and would not know one if they saw it.
And yes, in the UK it is mostly a casual insult, but as with most it depends on context. We use it synonymously with "lunatic".

[Fraggle Rocker]

And yes, in the UK it is mostly a casual insult, but as with most it depends on context. We use it synonymously with "lunatic".

We use "lunatic" to mean stupid or dangerous. "Looney" has a strong component of "silly."

[Saint]

Packing winds of at least 200mph (320km/h), the tornado razed a swathe of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

raze = To level to the ground; demolish.

swathe = A wrapping, binding, or bandage. Means what here?

Another word "swath" =
1.The width of a scythe stroke or a mowing-machine blade.
2.A path of this width made in mowing.
3.The mown grass or grain lying on such a path.
4.Something likened to a swath; a strip.

[Fraggle Rocker]

Packing winds of at least 200mph (320km/h), the tornado razed a swathe of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

raze = To level to the ground; demolish.

swathe = A wrapping, binding, or bandage. Means what here?

They should have used the word swath instead of swathe. As you noted, they are not the same. Once again, I point out that much of today's writing has not been well-edited. This should have been noticed and fixed.

A swath is the strip of land left after being mowed by a scythe (an old-fashioned manual cutting tool) or by a modern engine-driven reaper or lawnmower. So to say that a tornado cuts a swath is only a very slight extension of that original meaning. It's longer and wider, and people and buildings have been cut down in addition to the grass and other plants, but it's still a swath.

The word is used metaphorically in the phrase, "The new police chief cut a swath in the crime-ridden little town." This means that he has impressed the citizens with his work. Although it can also mean merely a pretentious appearance that attracts attention without actually accomplishing anything. "The new president cut a swath in the capital, until the citizens realized that he had not actually solved any problems but merely talked about them ambitiously."