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gong show
DCHP-3 (Oct 2022)
n. — originally Politics, later Sports
a disastrous, chaotic or comical situation.
Type: 2. Preservation — Initially, the term gong show was used in direct reference to the American television program "The Gong Show", which first ran from 1976 to 1980. This and related uses are international, as Chart 1 shows. "The Gong Show" was a comedic program that took the form of an amateur talent show. In it, judges struck a large gong to interrupt and dismiss poor performances.
The generalized meaning of 'chaos' is something distinctly Canadian, however, as can be discerned from Chart 2. Early use of the term was as similes ("like in The Gong Show"), used to describe situations (typically political events or meetings) in which participants interrupted one another (see the 1978 and both 1985 quotations). The 1990 quotation below is an early example of the current meaning of the term (provided above as 'a disastrous, chaotic or comical situation'). See the 2022 quotation for a more recent use illustrating the more abstract usage that has evolved since.
Gong show is often used in sports journalism (see the second 1990 quotation), and it has been suggested that the term has been adopted into the specialized jargon of "hockey bro" culture. However, as the citations show, the use of the term is no longer restricted to political or sports contexts but has been generalized to all areas.
The generalized meaning of 'chaos' is something distinctly Canadian, however, as can be discerned from Chart 2. Early use of the term was as similes ("like in The Gong Show"), used to describe situations (typically political events or meetings) in which participants interrupted one another (see the 1978 and both 1985 quotations). The 1990 quotation below is an early example of the current meaning of the term (provided above as 'a disastrous, chaotic or comical situation'). See the 2022 quotation for a more recent use illustrating the more abstract usage that has evolved since.
Gong show is often used in sports journalism (see the second 1990 quotation), and it has been suggested that the term has been adopted into the specialized jargon of "hockey bro" culture. However, as the citations show, the use of the term is no longer restricted to political or sports contexts but has been generalized to all areas.
Quotations
1978
Yesterday, they were like participants in the Gong Show, gonging everyone who spoke.Eat your heart out, was one eloquent phrase shouted across the floor.Crummy program, was another, challenged by one member who admonished: I wouldn't use such language in this House.They chewed gum, they thumped their desks.
1985
During the past few years some city council sessions have been heated affairs spiced with bitter personal attacks. During the election campaign, some candidates described the meetings as "gong shows." Lynch says he will not tolerate such unruly conduct.
1985
Others surveyed said Council was wasteful, financially reckless or childish and immature, citing television coverage, which Mr. Morgan described as ''the Tuesday night gong show." He said he was shocked to find that 66 per cent of his sample did not know who their aldermen were.
1990
Despite police warnings to stay home, thousands of Calgarians couldn't avoid the last-minute Christmas rush, swamping police and other services with requests for assistance. After eight calls, tow-truck driver Ralph Robertson said he would have attended even more if it weren't so difficult to get around. "It's a regular gong show out there right now, people shouldn't be out on these roads," Robertson said.
1990
The Gong Show bell has rung on three more Canadian players on the B.C. Lions. Rob Moretto, who led the specialty teams in tackles last year, is not being invited to camp. Neither is fellow specialty team player and sometimes slotback Paul Nastasiuk. A third specialty team member, backup fullback Wes Cooper, will likely not attend camp because of medical reasons (neck).
1995
"Gangster Gong show: Asian Hoods can Turn a Karaoke Bar into a Den of Drugs -- and Bloodshed: [Final Edition]."
1995
Mike Duggan, vice-president of Silver Star Mountain, said Lounds was skiing a run called the Gong Show -- a run for experts only.There were no witnesses to the accident. Duggan said, adding: "He was with a group of friends. They decided to go a different route. He determined he would ski down that run."
1998
Ed Lowe, a forward for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, predicted Saturday's contest to be either the cleanest game on earth or a Gong Show.
In the end, it would be more of the same.
2000
Hammond fully expects that Saturday and Sunday will be a “gong show,” as they work out the bugs of the new $1 million-plus facility.The original plans called for 4,000 seats to be in place -- the Hammonds had to bring in temporary scaffold bleachers to seat that many for this event.
2001
This may be a rather harsh indictment of mountaineers, but to see the disregard some climbers show the lands and cultures they travel through one need only look at the litter-strewn gong show that Everest Base Camp has become since Hillary and Tenzing first pitched their tents at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall.
2006
The St. John's Fog Devils came to town and they brought a gong show approach with them.
The Moncton Wildcats scored seven times on the power play and twice shorthanded en route to a 10-0 win over the undisciplined expansion team in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action yesterday in front of 5,688 fans at the Moncton Coliseum.
2010
It cast a pall over that evening's opening ceremonies, when the Georgian team entered BC Place looking downcast and wearing black armbands. The tragedy made some of the day's other concerns -- a chronic shortage of snow at the skiing venues and a malfunctioning centrepiece during the lighting of the torch -- seem trivial by comparison.
"From worries about the lack of snow, to the gong show with the torch lighting at the opening ceremonies, this looked like it would be a disaster story for Canada," said Phil Andrews, managing editor of The Mercury in Guelph, Ont.
"But Alex Bilodeau, all those red mitts, Crosby's Paul Henderson goal for his generation and that late rush of gold medals make it Canada's news story of the year."
2011
“And Toronto was scary,” Slade added. “People didn’t show up until really late. We have this weird ritual where if we drink [alcoholic energy drink] Four Loko, the Four Loko gods will always save it. We had these bottles of Four Loko leftover from New York and we thought, ‘Well, if they can save this one ...’ We were hanging out alone in the bar and thought we were done for and all of a sudden everyone showed up and it was crazy super fun. It was a gong show.”If all goes according to plan, Ricq and Slade will have their hands full in 2011 with a debut full-length album and touring galore.
2015
Two years ago, when the Canucks unravelled soon after Tortorella did, we could take comfort that perfect storm - critical injuries, a goaltending gong show, the mismatched coach’s suspension and over-use of players who expired before the schedule did - would pass.
2016
“It was the honour system (Monday) when you think about it. Gudbranson and Hendricks had an honourable fight and after that everybody played hockey. I think the days of the gong show is long gone. I thought Gazdic and Thornton did a good job of sorting it out in warm-up, they talked about what might happen, at least that’s what it looked like for me. Then after that, it was a pretty good hockey game.”
2022
The situation is “super dangerous,” he said.“Literally it is just a gong show as to when something tragic is going to happen to these individuals.“So it was a terrible choice, a terrible decision.”The V.I.P. - now called Ocean Place - is in the middle of a tourist area and its new use as supportive housing has had a huge impact on existing businesses that are operating legally, he said.
2025
Voters were forced to stand in a line that stretched around the block and wound through City Hall. It was a gong show. Thankfully, they put out chairs to help people cope with the wait time, but there definitely should have been more capacity and preferably more than one advance voting location.
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 28 March 2023
