Synonyms

funny farm

American

noun

Slang.

a psychiatric hospital.

funny farm British

noun

facetious a mental institution

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of funny farm

First recorded in 1960–65; funny ¹ in the sense “strange, peculiar, odd” and farm in the sense “a place that serves a specified type of client”

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.

This subtle, amiable jailbird on temporary leave to the funny farm is saner than the men around him but he’s not necessarily brighter.

From Los Angeles Times

I agree completely with Denis Cotter’s May 20 Free for All letter, “Not a funny farm.”

From Washington Post

"I don't watch betting patterns and I think, if I did, I'd wind up in the funny farm."

From The Guardian

I guess the police would figure me for a blithering idiot, a candidate for the funny farm, and my insurance company might have reason not to pay me after they canceled me.

From Project Gutenberg

And to everyone else, take it easy and hang tough. i was temporarily insane at the time See you smart guys at the funny farm.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023