bughouse

English

Etymology

bug +‎ house

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɡhaʊs/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

bughouse (plural bughouses)

1. (US, slang) A flea-infested hotel, lodging-house etc.
2. (US, slang) A prison.
3. (US, slang) A hospital, especially a lunatic asylum.
4. (South Africa, slang) A cheap and dirty cinema.

Derived terms

• bughouse chess

Adjective

bughouse (comparative more bughouse, superlative most bughouse)

1. (US, slang) Crazy, insane.
   • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 8, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 254:

     'Just what's up on this train? It seems bughouse to me.'

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 1127:

     Ewball, man, that is some bughouse talk.