the lunatics have taken over the asylum
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
People who are unqualified or irrational are in charge
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những người không đủ điều kiện hoặc không hợp lý đang nắm quyền
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: patients controlling a mental institution
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The company's latest decision proves that the lunatics have taken over the asylum
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” mean?
People who are unqualified or irrational are in charge Literally: patients controlling a mental institution
Is “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.