When a romantic comedy hits theaters today, editors in their film reviews like to use the term "screwball comedy," referring to a rather old and equally popular film genre. However, it seems that very few people are clear on where the term comes from and whether it actually classifies the film in question correctly. Originally a technical term from the language of baseball, the expression "screwball" later came to be used in American slang for a crazy, completely irrational person. This fact at least narrows down the genre definition to the extent that at least some of the protagonists in a film must behave eccentrically for it to be called a screwball comedy. Despite a certain inhomogeneity of the genre, there are still several other aspects to consider.