bedlam

1 a state of extreme confusion and disorder [syn: chaos, pandemonium, topsy-turvydom, topsy-turvyness]

2 pejorative terms for an insane asylum [syn: booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse, sanatorium, snake pit]

see Bedlam

English

Etymology

From the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem - a mental institution in London

Noun

1. A place or situation of chaotic uproar, and where confusion prevails.

Quotations

• 1872: John Bunyan, The Complete Works of John Bunyan, p 133

  Some of the wards were veritable "bedlams," and dis-charged patients have told of abuses practiced in them of which the mere recital causes a shudder.

• 2002: Mark L. Friedman, ''Everyday Crisis Management, p 134

  The outside of the Hyatt was bedlam. There was a group of more than a hundred injured people on the circular drive in front of the hotel.

Translations

References

Bedlam may refer to:

• Bethlem Royal Hospital, the world's first psychiatric hospital, from which most other meanings are derived (originally a distorted Arabic for "Bethlehem").
• Bedlam, a village in North Yorkshire, England.
• Bedlam Series, the NCAA College Sports rivalry between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.
• Bedlam sound system, a UK-based company.
• Bedlam Theatre, the venue of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company and also a venue for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
• Bedlam, the nickname for Institute F.C.'s Riverside Stadium in Drumahoe, near Derry.
• Bedlam (film), a 1946 movie starring Boris Karloff.
• Bedlam cube, a toy invented by Bruce Bedlam.

In music:

• "Boys Of Bedlam", a 1971 variant of Tom O' Bedlam by Steeleye Span.
• Bedlam, a Horrorcore rap group.
• Bedlam, an EP by metal band Twilightning.
• Back to Bedlam, a 2004 album from British musician James Blunt.
• The Bedlam in Goliath, a 2008 album from The Mars Volta.
• "Bedlam in Belgium", a song by hard rock band AC/DC.
• "Bedlam 1-2-3", a song by thrash metal band Exodus.
• "Lords of Bedlam", a song by metal band Hollenthon.
• "Bedlam Bridge", a song from the album Blue Sky Mining by Australian pop-rock band Midnight Oil.
• "Pure Bedlam for Halfbreeds", a song by experimental metal band Polkadot Cadaver.
• Bedlam, a British rock band who were active in the 1970s.

In literature:

• Bedlam, a science fiction novel by John Brosnan.
• Bedlam Planet, a science fiction novel by John Brunner.
• Bedlam (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant character.
• Tom of Bedlam, a character in Shakespeare's play King Lear. A disguise of Edgar, the legitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester.
• Bedlam, a psychiatric hospital in the book Rebel Angels, by Libba Bray.
• The Bedlam, a mentally impaired character in The Roses of Eyam play.
• Tom O' Bedlam an anonymous poem written circa 1600

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