bench show

American  

noun

1. a dog show in which the animals of each breed are judged and awarded prizes on the basis of standards established for that breed.

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Etymology

Origin of bench show

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

Example Sentences

Her most high-profile rulings from the federal bench show her leanings on sensitive topics of national resonance and consequence.

From New York Times • Feb. 9, 2022

“The purpose of a bench show is public education. It makes it a lot easier for the public to find the breeds they’re interested in,” explained Gail Miller Bisher, Westminster’s resident canine expert.

From Washington Post • Jun. 14, 2021

So in San Francisco, when he somehow got into a bench show with a houseful of snooty thoroughbreds, he was awarded another medal and a ribbon�for being the most traveled dog in the world.

From Time Magazine Archive

Say, dog, you could pull down ribbons like a candy-kid in any bench show anywheres. 

From Michael, Brother of Jerry by London, Jack

But it was the look of expertness in things hardly worth the trouble of learning; it was aristocracy's highly-prized air of the dog that leads in the bench show and tails in the field.

From The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig; a Novel by Phillips, David Graham