Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

elephant race

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.04 in modern English

Syllables: ele-phan-t race
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A situation in which one truck tries to overtake another at a slightly higher speed, blocking the road for passenger car drivers behind.

Example Sentences

"The faster trucker often feels forced to get out of their lane to maintain speed, but this causes an elephant race. At a difference of 3-5 MPH, it might take several minutes before the faster driver has both passed the slower truck and moved far enough ahead to get back in their lane."
"Merging too early could cause their trailer to impact against the slower truck. Which means elephant races aren’t over until both trucks are back in the travel lane."
"To help explain further, we need to understand what an elephant race means for truck drivers. […] Many truck drivers choose to pass, and elephant races are the result."

Etymology

Calque of German Elefantenrennen.

Inflected Forms

elephant races (plural)

Questions

What does elephant race mean?: A situation in which one truck tries to overtake another at a slightly higher speed, blocking the road for passenger car drivers behind.
Where does elephant race come from?: Calque of German Elefantenrennen.

How to pronounce elephant race

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