1. A place appropriated to the confinement and care of the insane; a madhouse.
2. An insane person; a lunatic; a madman.
3. Any place where uproar and confusion prevail.
Pejorative terms for an insane asylum; Also called: booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nuthouse, sanatorium.
(abbreviation of Bethlehem) The earliest mental hospital in Europe. The hospital was opened in the 14th century in London and is now sited in Surrey. It is now used as a slang word meaning chaos.