bear garden

American  

noun

1. a place for keeping or exhibiting bears, especially (formerly) for bearbaiting.

2. a place or scene of tumult.

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bear garden British  

noun

1. (formerly) a place where bears were exhibited and where bear-baiting took place

2. a place or scene of tumult and disorder

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Etymology

Origin of bear garden

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

"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

Colonel Pride, when Sheriff of Surrey, ordered the beasts in the bear garden of Southwark to be killed.

From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 1 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron