Barnburner

Barnburner
Barnburner Barn"burn`er, n. [So called in allusion to the fable of the man who burned his barn in order to rid it of rats.] 1. A member of the radical section of the Democratic party in New York, about the middle of the 19th century, which was hostile to extension of slavery, public debts, corporate privileges, etc., and supported Van Buren against Cass for president in 1848; -- opposed to {Hunker}. [Political Cant, U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

2. an impressively successful or unusually good event. [informal] ''The rock concert was a real barnburner.'' [WordNet 1.5]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • barnburner — n. an attention getting event or development. □ The current barnburner in Washington is the Wilson investigation. □ This is a real barnburner! Everyone will want to see it …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • barnburner — noun 1. someone who burns down a barn (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑arsonist, ↑incendiary, ↑firebug 2. an impressively successful event the rock concert was a real barnburner • Usage Domain: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • barnburner — /bahrn berr neuhr/, n. 1. Informal. something that is highly exciting, impressive, etc.: The All Stars game was a real barnburner. 2. Chiefly Pennsylvania. a wooden friction match. 3. (cap.) a member of the progressive faction in the Democratic… …   Universalium

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  • barnburner — barn•burn•er [[t]ˈbɑrnˌbɜr nər[/t]] n. dial. inf Informal. something that is highly exciting, impressive, etc • Etymology: 1930–35, amer …   From formal English to slang

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  • Wilmot Proviso — The Wilmot Proviso was introduced on August 8, 1846, in the United States House of Representatives as a rider on a $2 million appropriations bill intended for the final negotiations to resolve the Mexican American War. The intent of the proviso,… …   Wikipedia

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