Heath Robinsonesque

English

Etymology

Heath Robinson +‎ -esque

Adjective

Heath Robinsonesque (comparative more Heath Robinsonesque, superlative most Heath Robinsonesque)

  1. Ingenious (and often complex) but absurdly impractical or even useless.
    Synonym: rubegoldbergian
    • 1987, Barnaby Page, How to copy half a million cassettes (in Crash magazine issue 47, December 1987)
      Putting it all together: the cassette’s been run through a labelling machine, and now this Heath Robinsonesque device adds the inlay and the box in one swift operation, taking about three seconds for each cassette.
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