| 1. | having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance: a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes. |
| 2. | deviously complex and impractical: a Rube Goldberg scheme for reducing taxes. |
[gohld-burg] 
| 1. | Arthur Joseph, 1908–90, U.S. jurist, statesman, and diplomat: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1962–65; ambassador to the U.N. 1965–68. |
| 2. | Reuben Lucius (“Rube” ), 1883–1970, U.S. cartoonist, whose work often depicts deviously complex and impractical inventions. |
| Rube Goldberg (rōōb') adj. Of, relating to, or being a contrivance that brings about by complicated means what apparently could have been accomplished simply. [After Reuben Lucius ("Rube") Goldberg (1883-1970), American cartoonist noted for his intricate diagrams of such contrivances.] |
A twentieth-century American cartoonist and sculptor. He was famous for his humorous diagrams of incredibly intricate machines designed to carry out simple tasks.
Note: A “Rube Goldberg contraption” is a machine with many apparently extraneous parts, which appears to have been designed by patchwork.
Rube Goldberg
American cartoonist who satirized the American preoccupation with technology. His name became synonymous with any simple process made outlandishly complicated.
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