have bats in the belfry

have bats in the belfry

To be crazy; to act, think, or behave in a foolish or nonsensical manner. Tommy must have bats in the belfry if he thinks he can convince our mother to let him get a tattoo for his birthday. There's an old lady who stands on the corner yelling at strangers all day. I think she might have bats in the belfry.

See also: bats, belfry, have

bats in one's belfry, have

Be crazy or at least very eccentric, as in Sally thought her aunt's belief in ghosts indicated she had bats in her belfry. This term in effect likens the bat's seemingly erratic flight in the dark to ideas flying around in a person's head. [Early 1900s]

See also: bats, have

have bats in the belfry

or

have bats in your belfry

OLD-FASHIONED

If someone has bats in the belfry they are crazy. Don't say that to anyone else or they'll think you've got bats in the belfry! Note: The belfry is the top part of a church tower where the bells are kept, and bats resting there would fly about wildly when disturbed by the bells being rung. In this expression, the belfry represents the person's head.

See also: bats, belfry, have

have bats in the (or your) belfry

be eccentric or crazy. informal

This expression refers to the way in which bats in an enclosed space fly about wildly if they are disturbed.

c. 1901 G. W. Peck Peck's Red-Headed Boy They all thought a crazy man with bats in his belfry had got loose.

See also: bats, belfry, have

have ˌbats in the ˈbelfry

(old-fashioned, informal) be crazy or eccentric

See also: bats, belfry, have