Meanings
present singular third person has bats in one's belfry · participle present having bats in one's belfry · participle past had bats in one's belfry · past had bats in one's belfry · alternative have bats in the belfry
- idiomaticintransitiveTo be crazy or eccentric.
Anyone declaring himself Emperor of San Francisco probably had bats in his belfry.
2 more examples
You would certainly take the prize for bats in the belfry!--flying off on a wild-goose chase across a country where even the geese need a compass to keep to the course.
1900, Mary Etta Stickney, Brown of Lost River, page 254"That's sane," he replied mechanically. "I figured all along there were no bats in your belfry."
1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page xv. 136
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
1899, from tendency of bats to fly around erratically, with “belfry” indicating “head, mind”.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan tenir un perdigó a l'ala
- tenir un perdigó a l'alato be crazy or eccentric
Danish have rotter på loftet
- have rotter på loftetto be crazy or eccentric
Esperanto havi muŝon en la cerbo
- havi muŝon en la cerboto be crazy or eccentric
Finnish olla sekaisin, olla latvasta laho
- olla sekaisinto be crazy or eccentric
- olla latvasta lahoto be crazy or eccentric
- olla häkää yliskamarissato be crazy or eccentric
French avoir une araignée au plafond
- avoir une araignée au plafondto be crazy or eccentric
German nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben
- nicht alle Tassen im Schrank habento be crazy or eccentric
Hungarian nincs ki a négy kereke
- nincs ki a négy kereketo be crazy or eccentric
Italian mancare di qualche rotella, essere svitato
- mancare di qualche rotellato be crazy or eccentric
- essere svitatoto be crazy or eccentric
Polish mieć nie po kolei w głowie
- mieć nie po kolei w głowieto be crazy or eccentric
Russian винтика в голове не хватает, кры́ша пое́хала
- винтика в голове не хватает (vintika v golove ne xvatajet)to be crazy or eccentric
- кры́ша пое́хала (krýša pojéxala)to be crazy or eccentric
- не все дома (ne vse doma)to be crazy or eccentric
- сорвало ба́шню (sorvalo bášnju)to be crazy or eccentric
- шарики за ро́лики заехали (šariki za róliki zajexali)to be crazy or eccentric
Spanish tener pájaros en la cabeza
- tener pájaros en la cabezato be crazy or eccentric
Cite this entry
have bats in one's belfry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20bats%20in%20one's%20belfry
“have bats in one's belfry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20bats%20in%20one's%20belfry. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have bats in one's belfry,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20bats%20in%20one's%20belfry.
Source: have bats in one's belfry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.