| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
"The lover thinks more often of reaching his mistress than the husband of guarding his wife; the prisoner thinks more often of escaping than the gaoler of shutting his door; and so, whatever the obstacles may be, the lover and the prisoner ought to succeed." [Stendhal]Obstacle course is attested from 1973.