bear garden
Americannoun
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a place for keeping or exhibiting bears, especially (formerly) for bearbaiting.
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a place or scene of tumult.
noun
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(formerly) a place where bears were exhibited and where bear-baiting took place
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a place or scene of tumult and disorder
Etymology
Origin of bear garden
First recorded in 1590–1600
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It was a real bear garden," Lord Campbell told The Daily Telegraph.
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2015
I don't miss the bear garden of Prime Minister's Questions or the endless hours sitting in the Chamber waiting to try to get a few minutes talking to an empty House.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2011
The first time I took charge of a study hall at Centennial High School, I thought I was in a bear garden.
From Time Magazine Archive
Let us pull out of this bear garden.
From Time Magazine Archive
And now my shop is turned into a bear garden and there is a judgment against me and my goods are attached!
From The Confessions of Artemas Quibble by Train, Arthur Cheney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
