rubber room

noun

1. Informal. a room padded with foam rubber for the confinement of a violent mentally ill person.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rubber room¹

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

And while I knew many strange, different, obscure and absurd stories were out there in the burgeoning canon of Asian American indie film, they’ve traditionally been treated to festival showcases and critical golf-claps, then ushered out into the rubber room of history.

From Washington Post

Lindsey Graham will probably soon be an inmate in a rubber room, or wearing orange.

From Salon

“That’s rubber room stuff,” Mr. Pence told him, as Mr. Jacob recalled.

From New York Times

Jacob said Pence described Eastman’s response as “rubber room stuff.”

From Washington Post

When Pence was told of this days later, he told Jacob, “that’s rubber room stuff,” according to Jacob’s testimony.

From Slate

Related Words

• mental health institution
• psychiatric hospital
• psychiatric ward