clown car | Word of the Day

April 29, 2019 clown car [kloun kahr] noun 1. a group whose size seems absurdly excessive for the purported function of the group, and whose effectiveness is therefore questionable: The planning committee has added yet another member to its clown car, almost guaranteeing further delays. word-trends How Does Adding The Word "Possible" Change News word-trends What's Happening With The Word "Unicorn"? WORD OF THE DAY clown car continued... QUOTES But I'm old enough to remember 2015, when there were so many Republicans vying for the nod of their party, the early intraparty debates needed to be divided into two to ensure everyone got airtime .... The clown car, people named it. -- Helaine Olen, "The Democratic primary will be crowded in 2020. Good!" Washington Post, November 13, 2018 ORIGIN The term clown car in its original sense "a very small car used in a circus comedy act, in which the normal passenger capacity is greatly exceeded by the numerous clowns who climb out from inside," dates from the early 1950s. The disparaging, usually political sense "a group whose size seems excessive for the function of the group, and whose effectiveness is therefore questionable," dates from about 2013. MORE FOR YOU 1 The Google Effect And More 'Rules' The Internet Created Who needs to stash away names and dates into our longterm memory when we have Google? And, guess what, that phenomenon has a name! 2 Dissent vs. Protest: Why Choosing The Right Word Matters It seems political conflict in the 2010s has put the words dissent and protest at the center of our vocabulary. But are we using them correctly? 3 Does "Spark Joy" Mean The Same Thing In English And Japanese? In the context of the KonMari method, joy goes beyond just happiness. So what does it actually mean in Japanese, then? 4 Is There A Difference Between "Calling In" And "Calling Out"? Do you say "calling out sick" or "calling in sick"? That debate could go on forever. But, "calling out" and "calling in" actually have very specific meanings in the world of social justice. 5 The Issue With Casually Using The Word "Binge" When we enjoy things, it's normal for us to indulge in them. There's even a handy little word we pull out just for these instances of indulging in something we love: "binge." But, is using this word making light of serious disorders? © 2019 Dictionary.com, LLC. ABOUT CONTACT You are subscribed to the Word of the Day as: matzom229@gmail.com Subscriber since: September 06, 2017 Unsubscribe Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 500 Oakland CA 94607 Manage your subscription Terms & Privacy