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Synonyms

blackboard jungle

American  

noun

Informal.
  1. a school or school system characterized by lack of discipline and by juvenile delinquency.


Etymology

Origin of blackboard jungle

From the novel of the same name (1954) by American author Evan Hunter (1926–2005), on the model of asphalt jungle;

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.

Clearly, discussions of Clark's approach to taming the blackboard jungle run high with emotion.

From Time Magazine Archive

A British expedition into the blackboard jungle, with Sidney Poitier investing subtle warmth into the part of a starchy teacher in a slum school.

From Time Magazine Archive

This fall, divorced and shy of cash, she nervously switched the girls to what is supposed to be a "blackboard jungle" junior high school on the upper West Side.

From Time Magazine Archive

The setting for this crime wave is not an inner-city blackboard jungle but suburban Evanston Township High School on Chicago's elm-shaded, affluent North Shore.

From Time Magazine Archive

Only four years ago, Washington High would have matched most people's Hollywood image of the blackboard jungle.

From Time Magazine Archive

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