fender-bender
- noun
- /ˈfɛndərˌbɛndər/
- Informal
- The police reported that there was a fender-bender involving two cars, but no one was injured.
- a minor fender-bender
- a little fender-bender
- just a fender-bender
Like, you know, if, if we, if we, I don't think we need a lot of highly paid people with guns, you know, dealing with Fender benders.
- Like, you know, if, if we, if we, I don't think we need a lot of highly paid people with guns, you know, dealing with Fender benders.
- In fact, the many of the accidents that have been taking places with self driving cars are just slow speed rear end Fender benders.
Examples
-
She was late to the meeting because she got caught in a fender-bender on her way to work.
-
Williams, a social worker who had gone out for chicken wings that day, was involved in a fender-bender with another car.
Blog text (24) -
In fact, his one and only accident had been the fender-bender when he ran into her car.
Fiction book (2002) -
I just got into a little fender bender.
-
I got into a fender-bender in an unregistered vehicle.
Academic text (2005) -
I had a fender bender in Detroit in 2005, and the police showed up pretty quickly.
Blog text (27) -
There is a major traffic jam on this one-way street caused by two cars involved in a fender bender.
Fiction book (1992) -
Around the corner from a tavern owned by Clint Eastwood, we happened to see a fender-bender occur.
Fiction book (1999) -
After the fender-bender, they exchanged insurance information and went on their way.
Synonyms
A crash when two moving vehicles hit each other
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
fender-bender = fender + bender (semi-transparent) = fender + bender
The compound literally combines 'fender' and 'bender' (something that bends), so the idea of a minor collision that bends a fender is clear, but 'bender' also has an unrelated common sense ('drinking spree') which may confuse learners.
Etymology
The word fender-bender comes from the parts fender and bender; a fender is the metal over a car wheel and bender means 'to bend'. So a fender-bender is a small car crash that only bends the fender and causes little damage.