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

By comparison, a comic novel could succeed with about as many readers as it takes to fill a clown car, and yet the shelf of funny fiction is not much longer than a knock-knock joke.

From Washington Post

The House Republican Conference was “a clown car I was trying to drive.”

From Washington Post

This document is just another indicator that the clown car simply unloads a new bunch in D.C. every election cycle.

From The Daily Beast

The clown car simply unloads a new bunch in D.C. every election cycle.

From The Daily Beast