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Meaning of clown-car primary | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2
/ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/

Definitions

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.

US, derogatory

Examples

“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.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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