fly over cuckoo's nest

[samareshwar]

What is the meaning of the idiom 'fly over cuckoo's nest'? Please give an example of its use.

Yours truly
Samareshwar

[bhaisahab]

What is the meaning of the idiom 'fly over cuckoo's nest'? Please give an example of its use.

Yours truly
Samareshwar

It is not an idiom, "cuckoo's nest" is a slang term for a mental hospital.

[Raymott]

It is not an idiom, "cuckoo's nest" is a slang term for a mental hospital.

And there was a famous movie called "One flew over the cuckoo's nest". I don't think it has become an idiom.

[bhaisahab]

And there was a famous movie called "One flew over the cuckoo's nest".

Which was adapted from a great book of the same name written by Ken Keasy.

[Anglika]

From the Phrasefinder:

The title "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" refers to a shock therapy-induced recollection of a childhood game the Chief (an patient) played with his grandmother. The game centered around a quixotic chant whose elements represent OFOTCN's 3 main characters, and their respective conflicts and polarities. The lyrics are as follows:

: : : "Tingle, Tingle, Tangle Toes
: : : She's a good fisherman
: : : Catches hens, puts'em inna pens
: : : Wier blier, limber lock
: : : Three geese inna flock
: : : One flew east, One flew west,
: : : One flew over the cuckoo's nest
: : : O-U-T spells out
: : : Goose swoops down and plucks you out.


: : Although this may have nothing to do with the meaning of the nursery rhyme, most European cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests and build no nests of their own. The baby cuckoo is raised by parents of a different species along with their own babies but usually grows more quickly than its non-cuckoo nest-mates and pushes them out to die.

[VSPrasad]

cuckoo's nest

noun
pejorative terms for an insane asylum

http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi...o's%20nest

[Rosana Gorosito]

Hi!!
The expression "fly over the cuckoo's nest" means to be trap without any possibility to escape.

Eg: ....the police broke out in it, they were carrying guns and grenade, people were terrified and she was flowing over the cuckoo's nest...

Well, I hope you can use this expression in your writings.

[BobK]

...
: : : "Tingle, Tingle, Tangle Toes
: : : She's a good fisherman
: : : Catches hens, puts'em inna pens
: : : Wier blier, limber lock
: : : Three geese inna flock
: : : One flew east, One flew west,
: : : One flew over the cuckoo's nest
: : : O-U-T spells out
: : : Goose swoops down and plucks you out.


: : Although this may have nothing to do with the meaning of the nursery rhyme, most European cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests and build no nests of their own. The baby cuckoo is raised by parents of a different species along with their own babies but usually grows more quickly than its non-cuckoo nest-mates and pushes them out to die.

I think this follows the long/fruitful tradition of nonsense rhymes such as these:

One fine day in the middle of the night
Two dead men got up to fight.
One blind man to see fair play,
One dumb man to shout "Hooray" ... etc

or

Tell him to make me a cambric shirt
Without no seams nor needlework ... etc

or

Yesterday upon the stair
I saw a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today -
I wish that man would go away.

The nonsensical thing here is, as you say, cuckoo's don't normally build nests; there may be exceptions, but I imagine the anonymous writer of the rhyme chose those words because they thought there was no such thing as a cuckoo's nest.

[Raymott]

yes yes yes

I'll have what she's having.