Tom o'Bedlam

American  

[tom uh-bed-luhm] / ˈtɒm əˈbɛd ləm /

noun

PLURAL

Tom o'Bedlams

1. (in historical use) a roving beggar who is insane or is feigning madness.

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Etymology

Origin of Tom o'Bedlam

First recorded in 1595–1605; used of a beggar assumed to be a former inmate of Bedlam ( def. ), popular name for an insane asylum in London

Example Sentences

In the exuberant “Tom O’Bedlam’s Night Out,” poor Tom escapes from a medieval insane asylum, joins the King of the Fairies in his midnight revels and defeats Satan’s Nazgul-like champion in feudal combat.

From Washington Post

If she were the child of Tom o' Bedlam, she is still betrothed to me!

From Project Gutenberg

Now the poet drops his pen And moves about like other men: Tom o' Bedlam now is still And sleeps beneath the hawthorn'd hill.

From Project Gutenberg

In fact, the loss of the Gammer’s needle sets the whole village in flames; the spark falling from the mischievous waggery of a Tom o’ Bedlam in an artful insinuation against a certain gossip notable for the luxuriance of her grotesque invectives.

From Project Gutenberg

He has passionate grievances, Tom o' Bedlam's honesty and a spilling store of acrid Americana to relate.

From Time Magazine Archive