ˈbughouse, n. and a. slang.
A. n.
1. [Cf. bug n.2 3 a.] A lunatic asylum. orig. U.S.
| 1902 O. V. Limerick Billy Burgundy's Opinions 44 Place his name upon the list of permanent guests of the county bughouse. 1907 ‘O. Henry’ Heart of West 226, I thought he was in the bughouse. 1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 316 It's too bad a nut from the bug-house bought the Brooklyn Bridge to-day or I'd try to sell it to you. 1940 N. Marsh Surfeit of Lampreys (1941) viii. 113 You're bigger bloody fools than anybody outside a bughouse. |
2. [f. bug n.2 1.] An opprobrious term for a theatre or cinema. Cf. flea pit (flea n. 6).
| 1946 in Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. (1961) 1018/1. 1952 ‘N. Shute’ Far Country ix. 326 There's a little picture theatre... It's a bit of a bug-house. 1957 J. Osborne Entertainer i. iii, If there's nothing else on, I still go..to the bug house round the corner. |
B. adj. [Cf. sense A. 1.] Crazy; very eccentric. Chiefly U.S.
| [1891 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 255 Begging is called ‘battering for chewing’;..insanity, ‘bug-house’.] 1895 Century Mag. June 291/2 How's that for bein' bughouse, eh? 1896 Ade Artie xvii. 161 If I don't get mine inside of a week I'll go bug-house. 1917 Conan Doyle His Last Bow viii. 292 It's enough to make a man bughouse when he has to play a part from morning to night. 1930 ‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 187 For a moment I thought he'd gone bughouse. |