clown car

[kloun kahr]

noun

1. a very small car used in a comedic circus routine, in which the normal passenger capacity is greatly exceeded by the numerous clowns who climb out from inside.

2. Informal.,  a group whose size seems absurdly excessive for the purported function of the group, and whose effectiveness is therefore questionable.

   The planning committee has added yet another member to its clown car, almost guaranteeing further delays.

3. Informal.,  a small car.

   He used to call my old Beetle a clown car, but when gas prices soared, I got the last laugh.

Word History and Origins

Origin of clown car¹

First recorded in 1950–55; from a comedy routine used in the Cole Bros. Circus

Example Sentences

“This thing is a clown car she’s got going on,” Fredericks said.

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In an interview with The Hill, conservative talk show host John Fredericks compared Earle-Sears’s campaign to a “clown car.”

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Though its height is that of a monster truck, it has the feel of a clown car.

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But, for the first time since he took office, right now he seems content to sit in the background and watch his clown car roll past him.

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As the absurdity of this clown car of ignorance and arrogance unfolds, the most dangerous aspect of it has, at least so far, received the least media attention: Trump advisors are exchanging official communications on an app deliberately set to delete all evidence of their communications, which appears to be their standard operating procedure.

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