Rube Goldberg

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adjective

having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance: a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes.

deviously complex and impractical: a Rube Goldberg scheme for reducing taxes.

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Also Goldbergian, Rube Goldbergian.

Origin of Rube Goldberg

1955–60; after Rube (Reuben) Goldberg

Words nearby Rube Goldberg

rubeba, rubedo, rubefacient, rubefaction, rubefy, Rube Goldberg, rub elbows with, rubella, rubella HI test, rubella virus, rubella virus vaccine

How to use Rube Goldberg in a sentence

It’s not a sleek chip—like all classical computers and many quantum ones too—so much as a quantum Rube Goldberg machine on a lab bench.
New Quantum Computer in China Claims Quantum Advantage With Light|Jason Dorrier|December 6, 2020|Singularity Hub
Yes, I know Whoopi Goldberg made comments last week that were viewed as defending Cosby.
What Trait Do Bill Cosby’s Defenders Share?|Dean Obeidallah|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The lady who Goldberg is referring to is Barbara Bowman, one of the victims who agreed to testify in the 2006 case.
The Bill Cosby Controversy Stages of Grief|Amy Zimmerman|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A lazy off-season afternoon in Palmer's house is like being trapped in a Rube Goldberg cartoon.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up|Tom Boswell|September 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A brand new set was then unveiled as Goldberg welcomed us to the new season.
Rosie Returns to 'The View': A Bold, Intelligent, and Sometimes Boring Premiere|Kevin Fallon|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A basketball player in her teen years, Goldberg became a veteran of various exercise fads in adulthood.
Breaking Polo's Grass Ceiling|Keli Goff|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Foster, he thought, must certainly be scared of his wife, if he daren't show himself in this little rube town.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower
And everybody knew about the way Rube used to disappear every now and then during the middle of a season and go fishing.
The Boy Grew Older|Heywood Broun
Ollie Shreck, Rube's regular catcher, wouldn't sign a contract one season.
The Boy Grew Older|Heywood Broun
No one but Rube would have attempted such a thing; but he never stopped to think about odds or chances when his dander was up.
Out on the Pampas|G. A. Henty
They had a couple of hours to rest their horses, and then Rube and I led them straight to the Mexican camp.
Out on the Pampas|G. A. Henty