# have bats in one's belfry

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/have-bats-in-ones-belfry
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To be crazy or eccentric.

## Examples

- He has bats in his belfry if he thinks that will work.
- You have bats in your belfry if you want to skydive without a parachute.
- She thinks I have bats in my belfry because I prefer eating dessert for breakfast.
- Everyone thinks the old man has bats in his belfry because he talks to his garden plants every morning.
- My neighbor definitely has bats in her belfry because she wears a winter coat and heavy boots to the beach in the middle of July.
- The inventor clearly has bats in his belfry since he spent his entire life savings trying to build a machine that turns lead into gold.
- While his colleagues dismissed his radical theories as evidence that he had bats in his belfry, he remained convinced that his unconventional approach would eventually yield a breakthrough.

## Origin

First appearing in 1899, the phrase relies on the erratic, fluttering flight of bats to illustrate mental instability. The term belfry serves as a metaphor for the human head or mind, suggesting that a person’s thoughts are as disordered as a colony of bats disturbed within a church tower.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.