bee in one's bonnet

bee in one's bonnet in Culture

bee in one's bonnet definition


A chronic preoccupation, often fanciful or eccentric: “My cousin has a bee in his bonnet about the rudeness of local cabdrivers; he's written four letters to the editor on the subject.”

Slang definitions & phrases for bee in one's bonnet

bee in one's bonnet

noun phrase

A particular idea or notion, esp a fantastic or eccentric one; obsession: He's got a bee in his bonnet about wheat germ curing all the world's ills

[mid-1800s+; attested as bee in one's head fr early 1500s]


Idioms and Phrases with bee in one's bonnet

bee in one's bonnet

A strange idea or notion; also, an idea that is harped on, an obsession. For example, Bill's got a bee in his bonnet about burglars; he's always imagining strange noises. This term, which replaced the earlier have bees in one's head, transfers the buzzing of a bee inside one's hat to a weird idea in one's head. [ Second half of 1600s ]