funny farm
noun phrase (slang)

- sometimes used in a humorous or offensive way to refer to a hospital for mentally ill people

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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IMPORTANT USAGE NOTE

In these days of politically correct speech, one should be knowledgeable about, but wary of using terms which could offend minority or disadvantaged groups.

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WORD ORIGIN

FUNNY FARM is slang for a psychiatric hospital and is considered a derogatory term by some people. As used in this context, funny refers to "strange or odd". The phrase was made popular by the novelty hit song "They're Coming To Take Me Away", in which the singer (Jerry Samuels, alias Napolean XIV) talks of going mad after his lover leaves:

You left me anyhow
And then the days got worse and worse
And now you see I've gone
Completely out of my mind
And. . .

They're coming to take me away, HA HA
They're coming to take me away, HO HO HEE HEE HA HA
To the FUNNY FARM
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see
Those nice, young men
In their clean, white coats
And they're coming to take me away, Ha-haaa!

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SYNONYMS

SLANG: booby hatch, bughouse, laughing academy, loony bin, madhouse, nuthouse, padded cell,  rubber room, sanatorium, snake pit

STANDARD: mental health institution, mental home, mental hospital, mental institution, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric ward, sanatorium, sanitarium

(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)

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PRACTICE OWAD CAREFULLY TODAY
Use only with friends:

"If the telephone doesn't stop ringing soon, I'll be ready for the FUNNY FARM!"