Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spinal tap-ian

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.62 in modern English

Syllables: spinal -tap-ian
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, pertaining to, or resembling the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, especially with respect to its excessive behavior, its very high turnover of members, or its use of sound amplifiers with a maximum setting of 11 (instead of the usual 10).

Humorous; Informal

Example Sentences

"Without fail, each movie registered a 9 or 10. Only the movie Sky High deviated from this range, coming in at a SpinalTapian 11."
"The decision to name Malone (redshirt junior) and Hardrick (true junior) starting linebackers was one of the biggest stories from Monday’s release. . . . The fact that they won hotly-contested starting jobs after battling injuries speaks Spinal Tap-ian volumes."
"Yes’s list of former members since its founding in 1968 is of Spinal Tap-ian proportions."
"Podolak felt fortunate to have siblings Sarah and Christian Dugas join a group that ultimately, he said, "led a very Spinal Tapian kind of existence" involving "record company and management and internal band craziness.""
"On a scale from 1-10, the hype about the potential of 3D printing has reached a fevered mark deserving a Spinal Tap-ian “11”."
"Brooklyn garage-rockers Sharkmuffin are hitting the road with their 14th drummer. It's Spinal Tap-ian."

Etymology

From the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, as depicted in the mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap (1984).

Usage

Inflected Forms

Spinal Tapian (alternative) spinaltapian (alternative) SpinalTap-ian (alternative)

Phrases

up to eleven

Frequently Paired Words

up to eleven

Questions

What does spinal tap-ian mean?: Of, pertaining to, or resembling the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, especially with respect to its excessive behavior, its very high turnover of members, or its use of sound amplifiers with a maximum setting of 11 (instead of the usual 10).
Where does spinal tap-ian come from?: From the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, as depicted in the mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap (1984).

How to pronounce spinal tap-ian

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spinal tap-ian”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “spinal tap-ian”.
Repeat and practice — Say “spinal tap-ian” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.