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wild ride

wild ride

15 3.6
An exciting, fast attraction at an amusement park like a roller coaster
  • noun
  • /waɪld raɪd/
translation icon : montaña rusa
  • After a few minutes, I realized the amusement park's new attraction was awild ride full of twists and turns.

It was a wild ride, no pun intended.

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Examples

  • Pull up a chair and enjoy the wild ride called life on the farm with us!

    Blog text (26)
  • It's going to be a wild ride with these two.

    Blog text (28)
  • We really went on a really wild ride all around town.

  • It's been a pretty wild ride.

  • It's been a wild ride.

  • I'll tell you one thing: we're in for a wild ride!

    Blog text (26)
  • Welcome to the adventure; it's a wild ride!

    Blog text (7)
  • The markets took the recycling industry on a wild ride in 1995.

    Academic text (1995)
  • With the disappearance of Amy, this book searches for answers and takes the readers along for the wild ride.

    Blog text (27)
  • It's a wild ride.

Synonyms

roller coaster
vswild ride
42 1.6

A fast amusement park ride with steep slopes and sharp turns

is a general thrilling attraction or experience rather than a specific design
rollercoaster
vswild ride
12 3.5

A situation with many sudden highs and lows in feelings

is a physical park attraction or fun experience, not life changes
rollercoaster ride
vswild ride
1 4.0

An experience with many sudden ups and downs in feelings or events

is a literal amusement attraction rather than a metaphor for emotions
hypercoaster
vswild ride
  • Jargon
8.7

A roller coaster over 200 feet that goes very fast and has steep drops

is a broad thrilling attraction not restricted by extreme height
Nantucket sleigh ride
vswild ride
  • Archaic
9.9

A wild, dangerous ride like when a whale pulls a small boat very fast

is a park attraction or general thrill, not a sea chase
4.1

A situation with many sudden big changes in feelings and events

is the physical thrilling attraction or simple fun rather than emotional swings

How Exciting

wild ride
15 3.6
pleasant
314 1.0

Surface Forms

wild ride singular
wild rides plural

Morphology

wild + ride

The sense 'an exciting or thrilling attraction/experience' follows directly from composing 'wild' (very intense, vivid) with 'ride' (a trip or attraction), so the overall meaning is predictable from the parts. Even when used metaphorically for a dramatic experience rather than a literal amusement-park ride, the adjective+noun composition is transparent and cross-linguistically common, making it likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Wild ride comes from the picture of a fast, rough amusement park ride that feels wild and full of surprises. So people now say wild ride to mean 'an exciting or unpredictable experience'.