Word of the Day
: November 30, 2013lollapalooza
playWhat It Means
: one that is extraordinarily impressive; also : an outstanding example
lollapalooza in Context
The device, which is due out this spring, is being touted as the lollapalooza of smart phones.
"This drink, at $38 a glass in South Beach, is a real lollapalooza." - From an article by Malcolm Berko in NewsOK (Oklahoma), October 20, 2013
Did You Know?
Some readers may recognize "lollapalooza" as the name of an American music festival, now held annually in Chicago. Actually, the word "lollapalooza" has been around since at least the 1890s, though etymologists aren't sure where it comes from. Occasionally, it has been used as a gambling term for a made-up hand used to trick an inexperienced player-but primarily the term is used in a way very similar to "humdinger" and "doozy." It is spelled in a number of ways. "Lallapalooza," "lalapalooza," and "lollapaloosa" are among the variants, and in the past it was sometimes "lalapaloozer." Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Rube Goldberg may have contributed to the popularity of this term with "Lala Palooza," one of his cartoon characters from the 1930s.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Test Your Memory
What former Word of the Day refers to someone who completely abstains from alcoholic drinks? The answer is …
More Words of the Day
-
Apr 19
underwhelm
-
Apr 18
qua
-
Apr 17
circumlocution
-
Apr 16
inalienable
-
Apr 15
purloin
-
Apr 14
furlong
