1) Whenever things
get rough beyond all reasonable standards. An expression of an inability to make any headway against the fundamental ridiculousness of a shitty situation.
Pioneered by
Adam and Josiah about halfway through a confusing trip in Eugene, OR, it quickly became a useful, though somewhat overused, descriptor for a lot the
crap that life throws at you. It also evolved into a universal adjective to directly describe
people and things as well as situations. Sometimes shortened to MH.
2) Can be used as a reply to a complaint. In this form it is descriptive, but takes on the additional sense of empathizing with the speaker, while also tacitly admitting that there isn't
anything that can be done about the hopelessly fucked up situ.
A: "My shoes are untied, my headphones are all tangled, I can't find my shit, my nose is running and I don't know which way is up. I feel
like a bag lady."
J: "Mad haggard, yo!"
"Damn, Roland is really pissing me off with all the
bullshit he's making us do. Mad haggard--i'mma quit soon."
"George
Bush is mad haggard."
J: "This sucks."
A: "MH."