"conga line" meaning in English

See conga line in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-conga line.wav [Southern-England] Forms: conga lines [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} conga line (plural conga lines)
  1. A line of people dancing the conga. Categories (topical): Dance
    Sense id: en-conga_line-en-noun-1WikVeLU Disambiguation of Dance: 86 4 10
  2. (figurative) A succession of similar events, especially a quick, unstoppable, and/or comical succession. Tags: figuratively
    Sense id: en-conga_line-en-noun-LFhCtT~7
  3. (Canada, Northeastern US, Upper Midwestern US, figuratively) A moving formation of snowplows and/or similar equipment, arranged in a diagonal line across a multilane highway, airport runway, or other roadway, such that the snow from the first vehicle is passed to the second, and then from the second to third, and so on, thereby clearing much or all of the route's width in a single pass. Tags: Canada, Northeastern, US, figuratively
    Sense id: en-conga_line-en-noun-ChQJvSOE Categories (other): Canadian English, Northeast US English, Upper Midwest US English

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for conga line meaning in English (4.1kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "conga lines",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "conga line (plural conga lines)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "86 4 10",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Dance",
          "orig": "en:Dance",
          "parents": [
            "Art",
            "Recreation",
            "Culture",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A line of people dancing the conga."
      ],
      "id": "en-conga_line-en-noun-1WikVeLU",
      "links": [
        [
          "conga",
          "conga"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The politician's vainglorious boasting was quickly followed by a conga line of embarrassing defeats."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A succession of similar events, especially a quick, unstoppable, and/or comical succession."
      ],
      "id": "en-conga_line-en-noun-LFhCtT~7",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) A succession of similar events, especially a quick, unstoppable, and/or comical succession."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Canadian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Northeast US English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Upper Midwest US English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, Arthur Hailey, Airport, Doubleday, page 56",
          "text": "It was a pity, Mel Bakersfeld reflected, that runway snow teams were not on more public view. . . . Airport men called the group a Conga Line.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "5 Jan 1999, Amanda Jelowicki, “Heavy going: Road crews will be out till Thursday to clean up first big snowfall”, in The Gazette, Montreal, Canada, page A3",
          "text": "Plows, snowblowers and dump trucks have formed their winter conga lines, and most Montreal Island cities say they'll have streets and sidewalks cleared of snow by Thursday.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "16 Jan 1999, “Welcome to Spin City: Heavy Snow Highlights Drivers' Bad Judgement”, in Toronto Star, Canada, page W1",
          "text": "The trip took longer than usual–following the snow plow conga line, and dodging spinning Expeditions and Jimmys as they pirouetted off the road.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "26 Jan 2000, “Snow Cleanup Choreographed”, in Worcester Telegram Gazette",
          "text": "On highways such as I190 and I290 a conga line lets plows make a clean sweep from curbline to curbline on one pass he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "Feb 22 2001, Matthew L. Wald, “Getting Snow Off Runways”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-08-13",
          "text": "The plows move in a \"conga line,\" one tossing snow to the next.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A moving formation of snowplows and/or similar equipment, arranged in a diagonal line across a multilane highway, airport runway, or other roadway, such that the snow from the first vehicle is passed to the second, and then from the second to third, and so on, thereby clearing much or all of the route's width in a single pass."
      ],
      "id": "en-conga_line-en-noun-ChQJvSOE",
      "links": [
        [
          "snowplow",
          "snowplow"
        ],
        [
          "diagonal",
          "diagonal"
        ],
        [
          "multilane",
          "multilane"
        ],
        [
          "runway",
          "runway"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Upper Midwestern US",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Canada, Northeastern US, Upper Midwestern US, figuratively) A moving formation of snowplows and/or similar equipment, arranged in a diagonal line across a multilane highway, airport runway, or other roadway, such that the snow from the first vehicle is passed to the second, and then from the second to third, and so on, thereby clearing much or all of the route's width in a single pass."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-conga line.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "conga line"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "en:Dance"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "conga lines",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "conga line (plural conga lines)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A line of people dancing the conga."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "conga",
          "conga"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The politician's vainglorious boasting was quickly followed by a conga line of embarrassing defeats."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A succession of similar events, especially a quick, unstoppable, and/or comical succession."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) A succession of similar events, especially a quick, unstoppable, and/or comical succession."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Canadian English",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Northeast US English",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Upper Midwest US English"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, Arthur Hailey, Airport, Doubleday, page 56",
          "text": "It was a pity, Mel Bakersfeld reflected, that runway snow teams were not on more public view. . . . Airport men called the group a Conga Line.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "5 Jan 1999, Amanda Jelowicki, “Heavy going: Road crews will be out till Thursday to clean up first big snowfall”, in The Gazette, Montreal, Canada, page A3",
          "text": "Plows, snowblowers and dump trucks have formed their winter conga lines, and most Montreal Island cities say they'll have streets and sidewalks cleared of snow by Thursday.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "16 Jan 1999, “Welcome to Spin City: Heavy Snow Highlights Drivers' Bad Judgement”, in Toronto Star, Canada, page W1",
          "text": "The trip took longer than usual–following the snow plow conga line, and dodging spinning Expeditions and Jimmys as they pirouetted off the road.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "26 Jan 2000, “Snow Cleanup Choreographed”, in Worcester Telegram Gazette",
          "text": "On highways such as I190 and I290 a conga line lets plows make a clean sweep from curbline to curbline on one pass he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "Feb 22 2001, Matthew L. Wald, “Getting Snow Off Runways”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-08-13",
          "text": "The plows move in a \"conga line,\" one tossing snow to the next.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A moving formation of snowplows and/or similar equipment, arranged in a diagonal line across a multilane highway, airport runway, or other roadway, such that the snow from the first vehicle is passed to the second, and then from the second to third, and so on, thereby clearing much or all of the route's width in a single pass."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "snowplow",
          "snowplow"
        ],
        [
          "diagonal",
          "diagonal"
        ],
        [
          "multilane",
          "multilane"
        ],
        [
          "runway",
          "runway"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "Upper Midwestern US",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Canada, Northeastern US, Upper Midwestern US, figuratively) A moving formation of snowplows and/or similar equipment, arranged in a diagonal line across a multilane highway, airport runway, or other roadway, such that the snow from the first vehicle is passed to the second, and then from the second to third, and so on, thereby clearing much or all of the route's width in a single pass."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "figuratively"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-conga line.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-conga_line.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "conga line"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-03-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-03-01 using wiktextract (68773ab and 5f6ddbb). 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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