English Explanatory Dictionary

orphan-crushing machine

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A notional machine representing a system or state of affairs that obviously facilitates suffering but is not acknowledged or examined, or for which no alternative is considered.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-orphan-crushing machine.wav

Word forms

orphan-crushing machine orphan-crushing machines orphan crushing machine

Etymology

Referencing a Twitter post by @pookleblinky on September 25, 2020: Every heartwarming human interest story in america is like "he raised $20,000 to keep 200 orphans from being crushed in the orphan-crushing machine" and then never asks why an orphan-crushing machine exists or why you'd need to pay to prevent it from being used.

Related words

800-pound gorilla Chesterton's fence elephant in the room Leopards Eating People's Faces Party Torment Nexus
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