barnstorm

English

Etymology

From barn +‎ storm (due to performances commonly delivered in barns).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːnstɔːm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑɹnstɔɹm/

Verb

barnstorm (third-person singular simple present barnstorms, present participle barnstorming, simple past and past participle barnstormed)

1. To travel around the countryside making political speeches etc.
   • 1988 November 7, John F. Burns, “Once on the Ropes, Canadian Liberal Surges Back”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     A pair of red boxing gloves dangles in the cabin of John N. Turner's plane as he barnstorms across Canada campaigning for the general election Nov. 21.

   • 1994 May 27, James Dao, “Republican Candidates Barnstorm, Outlining Platform”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     A day after the end of an often contentious Republican State Convention, the party's endorsed candidates for governor and lieutenant governor barnstormed across the state today, talking with reporters, meeting supporters and chanting their campaign mantra: "It's Mario Cuomo's fault."

2. (US) To appear at fairs and carnivals in exhibitions of stunt flying, sporting events, or theater.
3. (US, of a sports team) To travel from town to town performing in front of small crowds.
   • 2013 June 17, Sam Borden, “To U.S. Soccer Team, Home Field Is an Ever-Changing Thing”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:

     He also noted that “we’re in the business of promoting the game” in the United States, which is a task surely helped by the national team’s barnstorming persona.

Quotations

• 1899, Mark Twain, as cited in 1901, J. B. Pond, Eccentricities of Genius, page 227

  I'm not going to barnstorm the platform any more, but I am glad you have corralled Howells.

• 2005, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, Mencken: The American Iconoclast, page 109:

  It wasn't just the smell of perfumes that assailed his nose every time he entered a stuffy auditorium that he found unwelcome; it was the childish playwriting and barnstorm acting that was driving out the intelligent theatergoer and the production of less commercial plays.

• 2006, Ethan Wolff, Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Manhattan, page 242:

  Smaller bands play the clubs ..., while the more established acts barnstorm through New York's surfeit of midsize halls.

Derived terms

• barnstormer
• barnstorming

Translations

to travel around the countryside making political speeches etc.

• Hungarian: korteskörútra/kampánykörútra megy, korteskörúton/kampánykörúton vesz részt, korteskedik (hu), kampányol (hu)

to appear at fairs and carnivals in exhibitions of stunt flying, or sporting events

• Hungarian: haknizik (hu), tájol (hu)

to travel from town to town performing in front of small crowds

Noun

barnstorm (plural barnstorms)

1. A series of appearances in small country towns, as by a politician or a travelling theatre group.

Translations

a series of appearances in small country towns, as by a politician or a travelling theatre group