"Alphonse and Gaston" meaning in All languages combined

See Alphonse and Gaston on Wiktionary

Proper name [English]

Etymology: From the name of an American comic strip and its characters, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness. Head templates: {{en-prop}} Alphonse and Gaston
  1. (attributive) A situation where two people or entities are waiting for each other to proceed, so that neither can take action. Tags: attributive Related terms: after you, Alphonse, deadlock
    Sense id: en-Alphonse_and_Gaston-en-name-xe9kuP8f Categories (other): English coordinated pairs, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
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  "head_templates": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
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      "categories": [
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
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            "Terms by etymology"
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        {
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        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1981, Bob Evatt, FLOWMAP, page 52:",
          "text": "I have noticed myself that even for a single cyclist Palo Alto motorists are too well-wishing, creating the Alphonse and Gaston syndrome that neither will proceed at minor intersections.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 September 23, New York Times, editorial:",
          "text": "For years, China and the United States have engaged in a dangerous Alphonse-and-Gaston routine, using each other's inaction to shirk their responsibility.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Richard Adler, Mack, McGraw and the 1913 Baseball Season, page 108:",
          "text": "Collins hit a fly ball, and this time Cobb and Veach did the \"Alphonse and Gaston\" act, with Collins making it to third base.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation where two people or entities are waiting for each other to proceed, so that neither can take action."
      ],
      "id": "en-Alphonse_and_Gaston-en-name-xe9kuP8f",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(attributive) A situation where two people or entities are waiting for each other to proceed, so that neither can take action."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "after you, Alphonse"
        },
        {
          "word": "deadlock"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Alphonse and Gaston"
}
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  "etymology_text": "From the name of an American comic strip and its characters, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness.",
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  "pos": "name",
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      "word": "after you, Alphonse"
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        "English entries with incorrect language header",
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        "English uncountable nouns",
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        "Pages with entries"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1981, Bob Evatt, FLOWMAP, page 52:",
          "text": "I have noticed myself that even for a single cyclist Palo Alto motorists are too well-wishing, creating the Alphonse and Gaston syndrome that neither will proceed at minor intersections.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 September 23, New York Times, editorial:",
          "text": "For years, China and the United States have engaged in a dangerous Alphonse-and-Gaston routine, using each other's inaction to shirk their responsibility.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Richard Adler, Mack, McGraw and the 1913 Baseball Season, page 108:",
          "text": "Collins hit a fly ball, and this time Cobb and Veach did the \"Alphonse and Gaston\" act, with Collins making it to third base.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation where two people or entities are waiting for each other to proceed, so that neither can take action."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(attributive) A situation where two people or entities are waiting for each other to proceed, so that neither can take action."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Alphonse and Gaston"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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