Dictionary

the lunatics have taken over the asylum en · X

Etymology

Said to originate in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United Artists. Perhaps an allusion to the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, first published 1845.

Meanings

1. Said of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their responsibilities, and should rather be put under scrutiny themselves.
   • Achievers in San Francisco tend to refer to Bolinas as one of those places where the lunatics have taken over the asylum, and tell you about I.B.M. vice presidents who have dropped out there and are into macrame. 1976 July 4, Ted Morgan, “The Pursuit of Happiness”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2018:
   • “[…] I think you would be rendering a great service if you used the power of your program to wake up the public to this increasingly callous and alarming situation. Too many people are unaware of the fact that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.” 2012, Mary Higgins Clark, We'll Meet Again, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 51:
   • The moon is a rock on a mountain / The lunatics have taken over the asylum / Waiting on the rapture 2011, Radiohead, "The Daily Mail", Ticker Tape Ltd. (XL Recordings)

Forms

wikipedia: Edgar Allan Poe · wikipedia: The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether