barnburner

[ bahrn-bur-ner ]

noun

Informal. something that is highly exciting, impressive, etc.: The All Stars game was a real barnburner.
Chiefly Pennsylvania. a wooden friction match.

(initial capital letter) a member of the progressive faction in the Democratic Party in New York State 1845–52.: Compare Hunker.

Origin of barnburner

1835–45, Americanism;barn¹ + burner; (def. 3) so called with reference to burning down a barn to get rid of rats

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Although the movie wasn’t a barnburner in theaters, it has proved to be a outsized performer, first on Netflix and now on Disney Plus.
Audiences love family films. Hollywood might be catching on. | Ann Hornaday | May 7, 2021 | Washington Post
Earlier this week, the acting chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Allison Lee, gave a barnburner of a speech.
Weekend edition—ESG can’t be ignored, the first NFT article, colorism by numbers | Susan Howson | March 20, 2021 | Quartz
They rely more on the strength of their ideas than barnburner narratives.
Iraq, Terror, and the Surreal: Hassan Blasim’s ‘The Corpse Exhibition’ | Brian Van Reet | March 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But how many of you can honestly say you think that second Nixon term was just a barnburner?
McGovern's Legacy | Michael Tomasky | October 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
It offered to admit the barnburner and Hunker delegations together to cast the vote of the State.
Martin Van Buren | Edward M. Shepard

We cannot insist on a mission for him and the collectorship for a barnburner.
Letters and Literary Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, v. 1 | Samuel J. Tilden

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