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5 results for: rube goldberg

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Rube Goldberg
–noun
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.
Also, Goldbergian, Rube Goldbergian.

[Origin: 1955–60; after Rube (Reuben) Goldberg]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
rube goldberg

To learn more about rube goldberg visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Gold·berg    Audio Help   [gohld-burg] Pronunciation Key
–noun
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Rube Goldberg    Audio Help   (rōōb')  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Rube Goldberg 
1940, from the U.S. cartoonist Reuben Lucius Goldberg (1883-1970) who devised fantastically complex gadgetry to accomplish simple tasks. His British counterpart was Heath Robinson (1872-1944).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

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