three-ring circus
- noun
- /θriː rɪŋ ˈsɜːrkəs/
:
circo de tres pistas
- The three-ring circus features acrobats, clowns, and animal acts performing simultaneously.
Examples
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The three-ring circus was a spectacle of acrobats and clowns.
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Organizing the event felt as chaotic as a three-ring circus with dozens of things happening at the same time.
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He took his children to their first three-ring circus and they were amazed by the lively spectacle.
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The performers dazzled the audience at the three-ring circus with their acrobatics, clowns, and animal acts all at once.
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Did you see the three-ring circus in town last weekend?
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During the summer, families flock to the fair to enjoy the thrilling three-ring circus.
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At the three-ring circus, you can see juggling, daring trapeze acts, and hilarious comedy all at once.
Synonyms
144
4.4
A noisy, confused situation when people behave in a very disorganized way
Surface Forms
Morphology
three-ring + circus
The phrase literally combines 'three' + 'ring' to describe a circus with three performance rings, which implies multiple simultaneous acts and therefore a hectic, disorderly scene; this composition makes the metaphorical sense (many things happening at once) reasonably inferable. However, the shift from a literal circus to a figurative description of a chaotic situation is a metaphorical extension that some B1 learners may not fully predict without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The noun three-ring circus comes from real circuses that set up three rings so different acts happened at the same time, with acrobats, clowns and animals all performing around the tent. That's why it refers to a show where 'many acts happen at once'.