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have bats in one's belfry. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
have bats in one's belfry, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
have bats in one's belfry in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
1899,[1] from tendency of bats to fly around erratically, with “belfry” indicating “head, mind”.
Verb
have bats in one's belfry (third-person singular simple present has bats in one's belfry, present participle having bats in one's belfry, simple past and past participle had bats in one's belfry)
- (idiomatic, intransitive) To be crazy or eccentric.
- Anyone declaring himself Emperor of San Francisco probably had bats in his belfry.
1900, Mary Etta Stickney, Brown of Lost River, page 254:You would certainly take the prize for bats in the belfry!--flying off on a wild-goose chase across a country where even the geese need a compass to keep to the course.
1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page xv. 136:"That's sane," he replied mechanically. "I figured all along there were no bats in your belfry."
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