Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

clown-car primary

/ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.87 in modern English

Syllables: clown--car pri-ma-ry
IPA: /ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/

29

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A primary election with a large number of serious candidates, usually more than four, making it possible that the winner will have been chosen by only a small portion of the electorate.

American usage; Derogatory

Example Sentences

"Two Months into Republicans' Clown Car Primary, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds Voters Turning against the GOP - Again [title]"
"The Republicans held a clown-car primary in 2012 with a dozen debates where their credo of hewing to the party line (more conservative than thou) prevented any candidate from emerging looking presidential."
"They can shake their heads over the seething anger in the Republican electorate, but this nasty and never-ending "clown car primary" is a problem of their own creation."

Etymology

From clown car + primary.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/

Usage

American usage
Derogatory

Inflected Forms

clown-car primaries (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce clown-car primary?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/.
What does clown-car primary mean?: A primary election with a large number of serious candidates, usually more than four, making it possible that the winner will have been chosen by only a small portion of the electorate.
Where does clown-car primary come from?: From clown car + primary.

How to pronounce clown-car primary

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