have bats in the belfry




have bats in the belfry :




blind as a bat = as blind as a bat

having very bad eyesight - Informal

This expression probably arose from the bat's nocturnal habits and its disorientated flutterings if disturbed by day. The poor eyesight of bats (and less frequently, moles) has been proverbial since the late 16th century.



have bats in the belfry = have bats in your belfry

be eccentric or crazy - informal

This expression refers to the way in which bats in an enclosed space fly about wildly if they are disturbed.

1901 - G. W. Peck - Peck's Red-Headed Boy - They all thought a crazy man with bats in his belfry had got loose.



like a bat out of hell

very fast and wildly – informal

1995 - Patrick McCabe - The Dead School - Like a bat out of hell that Joe Buck gets on out of the apartment and doesn't stop running till he reaches Times Square.



not bat an eye = not bat an eyelid

show no emotional or other reaction - informal

Bat in this sense is perhaps a dialect and US variant of the verb bate meaning lower or let down. The variant not blink an eye is also found.

1997 - James Ryan - Dismantling Mr. Doyle – She did not bat an eyelid when Eve spelled out the unorthodox details of the accommodation they required.



off your own bat

at your own instigation

spontaneously - British

The bat referred to in this phrase is a cricket bat.

1995 - Colin Bateman - Cycle of Violence – She doesn't have me doing anything, Marty. It's All off my own bat.



right off the bat

at the very beginning

straight away - North American



with bated breath

in great suspense

very anxiously or excitedly

Baited, which is sometimes seen, is a misspelling, since bated in this sense is a shortened form of abated, the idea being that your breathing is lessened under the influence of extreme suspense.



an early bath

the sending off of a sports player during a game - British informal

The allusion is to the bath or shower taken by players at the end of a match.



take a bath

suffer a heavy financial loss – informal

1997 - Bookseller - When the yen drops in value, we take a bath. There is no way to change the prices fast enough.



pass on the baton = hand on the baton

hand over a particular duty or responsibility

In athletics, the baton is the short stick or rod passed from one runner to the next in a relay race. The related phrases pick up or take \ up the baton mean accept a duty or responsibility.



under the baton of

(of an orchestra or choir) conducted by

The baton here is the rod used by the conductor.




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