the lunatics have taken over the asylum
Said of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their…Said of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their responsibilities, and should rather be put under scrutiny themselves.
» William was brought to the asylum.
Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 sensesSaid of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their responsibilities, and should rather be put under scrutiny themselves.
Examples
21 sentencesWilliam was brought to the asylum.
Gustavo ended up in the asylum.
The lunatics have taken over the asylum.
The inmates have taken over the asylum.
ruБольные захватили психиатрическую клинику. — Ooneykcall · CC BY 2.0 FR
Sami was released from the insane asylum.
Origin
Said to originate in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United ArtiSaid to originate in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United Artists. Perhaps an allusion to the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, first published 1845.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.