funny farm
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
An insane asylum.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
Paddy the Duke was right. I had one more "tour of duty" to put in at the funny farm. They turned me loose a few days after he left, sometime in the winter months of 1959, but in a little more than a year's time I would be back at Avalon Valley; and I would be a very sick man.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “funny farm” mean?
An insane asylum.
Is “funny farm” formal or informal?
funny farm is generally slang.