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Glite Dictionary
dancing bologna

dancing bologna

9.9
A funny picture or idea of a piece of bologna moving like a person in cartoons
  • noun
  • /ˈdænsɪŋ bəˈloʊni/
  • Informal
translation icon : bologna bailarina
  • The cartoon featured a hilarious scene with dancing bologna entertaining the characters.

Examples

  • Kids burst out laughing at the sight of dancing bologna on screen during the party.

  • Look at that dancing bologna in the cartoon!

  • He made a joke about dancing bologna escaping from his sandwich.

  • The kids laughed at the dancing bologna on TV.

  • The cartoon featured a hilarious scene with dancing bologna entertaining the characters.

  • Kids burst out laughing at the sight of dancing bologna on screen during the party.

  • He made a joke about dancing bologna escaping from his sandwich.

Synonyms

funny meme
vsdancing bologna
  • Texting
3.6

A picture or short video with a joke that people share online

is a specific cartoonish image used in jokes, not mainly a viral online item

Surface Forms

dancing bologna singular
dancing bolognas plural

Morphology

dance + bologna

The phrase combines the present-participial adjective 'dancing' (performing a dance) with 'bologna' (the processed meat), so its meaning — bologna that is animated or personified and dancing — is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern (an -ing modifier describing the action of a noun) is common cross-linguistically and would be transparently understood by a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

The phrase dancing bologna comes from cartoons and jokes where a slice of bologna is shown dancing like a little person. That silly moving meat image is an easy memory hook, so the phrase means 'a funny or playful picture' people use to make others laugh.