ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tulip mania

idiom
Meaning

Any asset bubble (such as a stock bubble), especially when the irony of human folly that it illustrates is being emphasized.


Origin

disputed origin

From tulip + mania.

Examples
SIMPLE

The recent rise in tech stocks looks like another tulip mania.

CONTEXTUAL

Investors ignored all warnings about the high prices, leading many to compare the market crash to the original tulip mania.

COMPLEX

History often repeats itself, as seen when the speculative frenzy surrounding digital assets mirrored the irrational exuberance and eventual collapse of the seventeenth-century tulip mania.

Anchors to

Last updated April 17, 2026