flash mob

or flash·mob

[ flash-mob ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a group of people mobilized by social media to meet in a public place for the purpose of doing an unusual or entertaining activity of short duration:
The flash mob brought wide smiles to the faces of commuters waiting for their train.
a group of teenagers who have contacted each other by cell phone and social media and gather in an area to trash it or to mug and beat passersby.

, flash mobbed, flash mob·bing.

to crowd around (a place or person) in a flash mob:
Dancing teenagers flash mobbed the store.
to commit violence against (a place or person) in a flash mob:
The mayor imposed a curfew on all males under the age of 18 after two blocks of downtown Philadelphia were flash mobbed and severely damaged.

, flash mobbed, flash mob·bing.

flash mob

a group of people coordinated by email and social media to meet to perform some predetermined action at a particular place and time and then disperse quickly

2000–05; flash in the sense of ‘quick'; on the model of smart mob

In Taipei, Taiwan, a Bach flash mob consisting of cellists and tuba players took over a train.

So when the Today show staged a flash mob earlier this month, it had the effect of beating a dead horse.

This effort is admittedly less “flash mob” and more “stand and sing on the subway.”

Perhaps a synchronized flash mob would have been a bigger hit, or at least more entertaining for spectators to watch.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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