Bee in one’s bonnet
bee in one’s bonnet
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.”
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]
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 ]
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