Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GOLDBERGIAN
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I bet you can find a use for the delightful word Goldbergian, meaning "intricate in a needlessly complex way, like a machine sketched by the cartoonist Rube Goldberg."
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was a popular cartoonist who poked fun at American culture for its obsession with technology.
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Part of speech:
"Goldbergian" is a very rare word. Despite Goldberg's popularity, not everyone is familiar with his cartoons, and he's not the first Goldberg that everyone thinks of. In fact, if you're talking to a philosopher or a linguist, "Goldbergian" will have a completely different meaning.
"My favorite example of a successful Rube Goldberg machine to date is one that was designed to suck the egg out of the shell using a large syringe."
Explain the meaning of "Goldbergian" without saying "elaborate" or "convoluted."
In the movie Austin Powers, Dr. Evil plans to kill Austin with this Goldbergian plan: very slowly lowering him into a pool of sharks with laser beams on their heads. It doesn't go as planned.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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Opposites of GOLDBERGIAN include
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