Meanings
alternative that way lies madness
- excessiveThe mentioned activity, line of inquiry, etc., should not be pursued because it will cause frustration, anger, etc., and lead to no good.
Your old kind Father, whoſe franke heart gaue all, / O that way madneſſe lies, let me ſhun that: / No more of that.
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 297, column 21 more example
You see what we're up against here. "Timecop," a low-rent "Terminator," is the kind of movie that is best not thought about at all, for that way madness lies.
1994 September 16, Roger Ebert, “Timecop”, in Chicago Sunday Times, archived from the original on 13 Nov 2005
Origin
From The Tragedy of King Lear (c. 1606), see quotations.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
that way madness lies. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20way%20madness%20lies
“that way madness lies.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20way%20madness%20lies. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that way madness lies,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20way%20madness%20lies.
Source: that way madness lies on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.