barnstorm
[bahrn-stawrm]
- to conduct a campaign or speaking tour in rural areas by making brief stops in many small towns.
- Theater. to tour small towns to stage theatrical performances.
- (of a pilot) to give exhibitions of stunt flying, participate in airplane races, etc., in the course of touring country towns and rural areas.
- (of a professional athletic team) to tour an area playing exhibition games after the regular season.
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- to tour (various places) as a barnstormer.
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Origin of barnstorm
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for barnstorming
Contemporary Examples
Back then, when partners of stars melted into the background, it was a barnstorming stealing of the show.
After such a barnstorming stage debut, and while “my heart is in theater,” screen acting intrigues him.
Not long after that, during a barnstorming tour of the country, he suffers the fate of all martyrs.
American Dreams: How Bush Shaped Our Reading of Roth’s ‘The Plot Against America’Nathaniel Rich
November 23, 2014
As the barnstorming tour moves across America, Walker also seems to become increasingly fixated on Cuba.
He spent the last two years barnstorming around the country on behalf of Mitt Romney.
Historical Examples
I had heard of but had never known what "barnstorming" meant before.
Nat Goodwin's BookNat C. Goodwin
Usually though, it only ends in talk, and the teams make a barnstorming trip to San Francisco or to Cuba.
Baseball Joe Around the WorldLester Chadwick
barnstorm
- to tour rural districts putting on shows, esp theatrical, athletic, or acrobatic shows
- mainly US and Canadian to tour rural districts making speeches in a political campaign
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Word Origin
C19: from barn 1 + storm (vb); from the performances often being in barns
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for barnstorming
barnstorm
v.
1815, in reference to a theatrical troupe's performances in upstate New York barns (usually featuring short action pieces to suit vulgar tastes); extended 1896 to electioneering, 1928 to itinerant airplane pilots who performed stunts at fairs and races. Related: Barnstormed; barnstorming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper