char-à-banc

American  

[shar-uh-bang, -bangk, sha-ra-bahn] / ˈʃær əˌbæŋ, -ˌbæŋk, ʃa raˈbɑ̃ /

Or charabanc

noun

British.

plural

char-à-bancs

1. a large bus used on sightseeing tours, especially one with open sides and no center aisle.

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Etymology

Origin of char-à-banc

1810–20; back formation from French char-à-bancs literally, car with benches, the -s being taken as plural ending of word as a whole

Example Sentences

"There was something else—I should not speak of it—" They were standing in the shadow of the char-à-banc.

From The Californians by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn

Here we landed in a pilot-boat, with some Danish gentlemen, who were very civil to us, and by their aid we engaged a char-à-banc, and drove to Copenhagen the same evening.

From Fred Markham in Russia The Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar by Landells, R. T.

"You were lucky to be able to go all the way by char-à-banc," commented Mrs. Cameron.

From The Jolliest School of All by Brazil, Angela

All Mrs. Murry did was to snort, and look at the girl like vinegar, and just then the char-à-banc came up, and they had to scramble for their seats.

From The House of Souls by Machen, Arthur

He felt genuinely sorry for her, but his only part was to get out and hand these radiant visions into the char-à-banc.

From The Californians by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn