OFFTOPIC: show stopper

Martin von Loewis (martin@mira.isdn.cs.tu-berlin.de)
Sat, 13 Dec 1997 23:58:38 +0100


> One silly linguistic question: what is "show stopper"
> in plain... mmm... English ? :-) :-)

According to my Webster's

DEFINE show-stopper
DEFINITION 0
show-stop-per \-,sta^:p-er\ n (1946)
1 : an act, song, or performer that wins applause so prolonged as
to interrupt a performance
2 : something or someone exceptionally arresting or attractive
<the gold crown was showstopper of the exhibition>

Whether this definition qualifies as 'plain' English is up to the
reader...

Martin