loony bin

English

Alternative forms

• looney bin

Pronunciation

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Noun

loony bin (plural loony bins)

1. (slang, derogatory) A lunatic asylum.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:mental hospital

   • 1965, Marguerite Young, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, Scribner, page 426:

     And perhaps, of course, her dreams had seemed more real to other people, too, than life could be—there was always that impossibility, more real than anything which seemed merely possible—at least in this old house by the roaring waves, this loony bin.