"Cadillac converter" meaning in English

See Cadillac converter in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈkædɪlæk kənˈvɜːtə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈkædəˌlæk kənˈvɝtɚ/ [General-American], [-ɾɚ] [General-American] Forms: Cadillac converters [plural]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tə(ɹ) Etymology: From the similarity between catalytic and Cadillac (“brand of luxury automobile”), probably originally a mondegreen (“error arising from the mishearing of a phrase”) and used humorously to allude to the high cost of catalytic converters. Etymology templates: {{m|en|catalytic}} catalytic, {{m|en|Cadillac|t=brand of luxury automobile}} Cadillac (“brand of luxury automobile”), {{l|en|mondegreen|t=error arising from the mishearing of a phrase}} mondegreen (“error arising from the mishearing of a phrase”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} Cadillac converter (plural Cadillac converters)
  1. (chiefly Southern US, malapropism, nonstandard, often humorous) Synonym of catalytic converter (“chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide”) Tags: Southern-US, humorous, nonstandard, often Categories (topical): Auto parts Synonyms: catalytic converter [synonym, synonym-of]

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for Cadillac converter meaning in English (4.8kB)

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      "args": {
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        "2": "catalytic"
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  "etymology_text": "From the similarity between catalytic and Cadillac (“brand of luxury automobile”), probably originally a mondegreen (“error arising from the mishearing of a phrase”) and used humorously to allude to the high cost of catalytic converters.",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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        {
          "ref": "1992, Ricardo Cortez Cruz, “The Bloods and the Crips, Starring Billy Bugle Boy”, in Straight Outta Compton, Normal, Ill., Boulder, Colo.: University of Colorado; Fiction Collective Two, page 65",
          "text": "Anyway, wherever he was, all he ever talked about was Cadillac converters and pipe. His work with pipe paid off when he was awarded the honor of \"Repairman of the Week.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Gilbert A. Knowles, “Why Listen to Me?”, in Help Them Pull Their Pants Up: How Mentors and Communities Can Empower Young African American Men, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, part I (The Preamble), page 28",
          "text": "He then asked, “What is a Cadillac converter?” At this point, I'm thinking he doesn't know much about cars; therefore, I went on to explain. From the look on his face, I knew he was setting me up for an attack. He replied, \"The proper words are catalytic converter.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "2011 November, Robert Hartwell Fiske, “cadillac”, in Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English: A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with Commentary on Lexicographers and Linguists, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, page 86",
          "text": "We were a strong competitor throughout the competition, but then the Cadillac converter fell off, which hurt our emissions and place in the overall standings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of catalytic converter (“chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide”)"
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      "id": "en-Cadillac_converter-en-noun-R22Es~ih",
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          "divided",
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        [
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        ],
        [
          "catalyst",
          "catalyst"
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        [
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          "carbon monoxide"
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        [
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        [
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        [
          "exhaust",
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      "ipa": "/ˈkædəˌlæk kənˈvɝtɚ/",
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  "word": "Cadillac converter"
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        "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)",
        "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)tə(ɹ)/6 syllables",
        "Southern US English",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1992, Ricardo Cortez Cruz, “The Bloods and the Crips, Starring Billy Bugle Boy”, in Straight Outta Compton, Normal, Ill., Boulder, Colo.: University of Colorado; Fiction Collective Two, page 65",
          "text": "Anyway, wherever he was, all he ever talked about was Cadillac converters and pipe. His work with pipe paid off when he was awarded the honor of \"Repairman of the Week.\"",
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          "ref": "2008, Gilbert A. Knowles, “Why Listen to Me?”, in Help Them Pull Their Pants Up: How Mentors and Communities Can Empower Young African American Men, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, part I (The Preamble), page 28",
          "text": "He then asked, “What is a Cadillac converter?” At this point, I'm thinking he doesn't know much about cars; therefore, I went on to explain. From the look on his face, I knew he was setting me up for an attack. He replied, \"The proper words are catalytic converter.\"",
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          "ref": "2011 November, Robert Hartwell Fiske, “cadillac”, in Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English: A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with Commentary on Lexicographers and Linguists, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, page 86",
          "text": "We were a strong competitor throughout the competition, but then the Cadillac converter fell off, which hurt our emissions and place in the overall standings.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "(chiefly Southern US, malapropism, nonstandard, often humorous) Synonym of catalytic converter (“chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide”)"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "extra": "chamber containing a finely divided platinum catalyst in which carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust are oxidized to carbon dioxide",
          "tags": [
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      "ipa": "/ˈkædəˌlæk kənˈvɝtɚ/",
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  "word": "Cadillac converter"
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (fc4f0c7 and c937495). 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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