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Glite Dictionary
lack of cromulence

lack of cromulence

9.9
A state when something is not right or acceptable, often used as a joke
  • noun
  • /læk əv ˈkrɒmələns/
  • Slang
translation icon : falta de cromulencia
  • The proposal was rejected due to its lack of cromulence.

Examples

  • Critics pointed out the lack of cromulence in the newly adopted policy.

  • His speech was memorable for its passion but marked by a definite lack of cromulence.

  • The presentation suffered from a lack of cromulence.

  • Did you notice the lack of cromulence in his argument?

  • The committee decided to delay the decision because of the lack of cromulence in the proposed changes.

  • Many attendees found the report amusing, but they couldn't ignore its lack of cromulence.

  • His joke fell flat, highlighting the lack of cromulence in his understanding of the topic.

Synonyms

inappositeness
vslack of cromulence
9.9

The state of not being suitable for a situation or purpose

is a similar lack but used playfully or ironically rather than neutrally

Antonyms

correctness
8 3.5

A state of being accurate and matching facts or rules

How Appropriate

lack of cromulence
  • Slang
9.9

Surface Forms

lack of cromulence singular
lack of cromulences plural

Morphology

lack + of + cromulence

Although the syntactic frame 'lack of X' is transparent, the crucial content word 'cromulence' is a nonce/cultural coinage (no dictionary meaning) whose intended sense is ironic and learned from pop-culture usage. Because the meaning depends on knowing this invented, playful lemma rather than compositional semantics, a B1 learner who only knows the literal constituents would not reliably infer the intended sense.

Etymology

Lack of cromulence comes from a joke on the TV show The Simpsons, where the made-up word cromulence was used to sound like a real word meaning something 'acceptable'. So saying lack of cromulence is a playful way to call something 'not appropriate or acceptable'.