silly season

noun

a time of year, usually in midsummer or during a holiday period, characterized by exaggerated news stories, frivolous entertainments, outlandish publicity stunts, etc.: The new movie reminds us that the silly season is here.

Origin of silly season

First recorded in 1870–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for silly season

Contemporary Examples of silly season

The Shroud is generally lumped in with silly-season subjects, such as Atlantis, yetis, and UFOs.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’
Thomas de Wesselow
April 3, 2012

Historical Examples of silly season

Now, is it only a 'silly-season' cry, this grievance about no houses, or is it true?
The Brightener
C. N. Williamson
This looks like the subject of a silly-season correspondence in The Daily Telegraph.
The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for silly season

silly season

noun

British a period, usually during the hot summer months, when journalists fill space reporting on frivolous events and activities

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012