Calvinball
Americannoun
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a ball game in which the rules are made up by the players as the game progresses.
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a situation in which the rules are absurd, arbitrary, or constantly changing.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I don’t really disagree very much with that; I thought Jackson’s Calvinball dissent was one of the best dissents we’ve seen from the court in my lifetime.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025
But the important thing to remember in the Calvinball world of Brexit is that no one actually knows what the rules are because no one has ever done this before.
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2018
Calvinball, for instance, is a sport with no rules except those Calvin makes up as he goes along.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2015
In interviews, FC proponents, particularly the professors, tried to play Calvinball with me, avoiding words and trying to redefine the debate.
From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2015
If we declare that Calvinball belongs to West Virginia, then it’s off the board—no other state can have it.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
