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Glite Dictionary
California stop

California stop

8.4
To slow but not stop fully at a stop sign or red light
  • noun
  • /ˌkælɪˈfɔrnjə stɑp/
  • US
translation icon : detención californiana
  • Many drivers are prone to do a California stop when no other cars are around.

Examples

  • The police officer warned him about the dangers of doing a California stop at red lights.

  • This will most likely result in a few more "California stops" at quiet intersections.

    Blog text (20)

  • He got a ticket for making a California stop at the intersection.

Surface Forms

California stop singular
California stops plural

Morphology

California + stop

Although 'stop' is transparent, 'California' is a place name and does not encode the specific behaviour of slowing without fully stopping; the compound is a regional colloquialism/metonymy referring to a particular traffic violation. A B1 learner who knows both words would not reliably infer the precise meaning (a partial/rolling stop), so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable from its parts.

Etymology

California stop comes from a common scene of drivers in California who slow at a stop sign but keep rolling instead of fully stopping. So, it now means 'slowing down but not coming to a complete stop'.