Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg
   Refers to any device reminiscent of those drawn by American cartoonist Reuben (Rube) Goldberg (1883-1970). Each of Goldberg's inventions typically accomplished some task by an extraordinarily complicated and humorous means. Published as the "Crazy Inventions" in American newspapers, his drawings pictured an assemblage of ordinary objects, mechanical gadgets, and the oddest odds and ends linked together to perform simple operations. A "Rube Goldberg device" then, must be an incredibly impractical scheme or contraption, accomplishing by complex means what could have been done quite simply.

Glossary of Art Terms. 2014.

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  • Rube Goldberg — en 1928. Reuben Lucius Goldberg, né le 4 juillet 1883 à San Francisco et mort le 7 décembre 1970 à New York, est un dessinateur juif américain, spécialisé dans le dessin de presse, politique comme d humour, et la bande dessinée. Il a également… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rube Goldberg — Nombre Reuben Lucius Goldberg …   Wikipedia Español

  • Rube Goldberg — (eigentlich Reuben Lucius Goldberg; * 4. Juli 1883 in San Francisco; † 7. Dezember 1970 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Cartoonist sowie Mitbegründer und erster Präsident der National Cartoonists Society, der US amerikanischen Vereinigung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rube Goldberg — Rube Gold•berg [[t]ˈrub ˈgoʊld bɜrg[/t]] adj. 1) having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance: a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes[/ex] 2) deviously complex and impractical • Etymology: 1955–60; after Rube (Reuben)… …   From formal English to slang

  • Rube Goldberg — ☆ Rube Goldberg [ro͞ob′ gōld′bərg ] adj. [after Rube (Reuben Lucius) Goldberg (1883 1970), U.S. cartoonist of comically involved contrivances] designating any very complicated invention, machine, scheme, etc. laboriously contrived to perform a… …   English World dictionary

  • Rube Goldberg — Rube Gold|berg [ ,rub gould,bɜrg ] adjective AMERICAN a Rube Goldberg machine or system appears funny because it provides an extremely complicated way of doing something simple …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Rube Goldberg — 1940, from the U.S. cartoonist Reuben Lucius Goldberg (1883 1970) who devised fantastically complex gadgetry to accomplish simple tasks. His British counterpart was Heath Robinson (1872 1944) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Rube Goldberg — Infobox Person name = Rube Goldberg image size = 200 caption = birth date = July 4, 1883 birth place = death date = December 7, 1970 death place = other names = known for = occupation = Cartoonist nationality = AmericanReuben Garret Lucius… …   Wikipedia

  • Rube Goldberg — 1. having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance: a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes. 2. deviously complex and impractical: a Rube Goldberg scheme for reducing taxes. Also, Goldbergian, Rube Goldbergian. [1955 60;… …   Universalium

  • Rube Goldberg — American, informal a Rube Goldberg piece of equipment or plan is very complicated and not very practical. They use a Rube Goldberg type contraption to open and close the farm gate. The city is not well served by this Rube Goldberg scheme for… …   New idioms dictionary

  • Rube Goldberg —    The man who created, for the amusement of his readers, cartoons of preposterous, elaborate contraptions to illustrate a simple operation was Reuben Lucius Goldberg (1883 1970). His diagrams were logical and fun to follow.    Goldberg was born… …   Dictionary of eponyms

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