Barnstorm
to conduct a campaign or speaking tour in rural areas by making brief stops in many small towns.
Theater. to tour small towns to stage theatrical performances.
(of a pilot) to give exhibitions of stunt flying, participate in airplane races, etc., in the course of touring country towns and rural areas.
(of a professional athletic team) to tour an area playing exhibition games after the regular season.
to tour (various places) as a barnstormer.
Contemporary Examples
I half-expected him to barnstorm out in riding boots and harangue us, Mussolini-style, underlit from a plinth.
Obama Frees His Mojo Tina Brown September 9, 2009
Just get in the same plane and barnstorm the country together.
Grill Him Again! Mark McKinnon February 2, 2010
Now he ought to take his show on the road, barnstorm the country in behalf of the tax hike, see what happens.
Ya Think Susan Rice Is Happy Today? Michael Tomasky November 13, 2012
verb (intransitive)
to tour rural districts putting on shows, esp theatrical, athletic, or acrobatic shows
(mainly US & Canadian) to tour rural districts making speeches in a political campaign
v.
1815, in reference to a theatrical troupe’s performances in upstate New York barns (usually featuring short action pieces to suit vulgar tastes); extended 1896 to electioneering, 1928 to itinerant airplane pilots who performed stunts at fairs and races. Related: Barnstormed; barnstorming.
Read Also:
- Barn swallow
a common swallow, Hirundo rustica, of North America and Eurasia, that nests in barns and similar buildings. Historical Examples At times it twitters like a barn swallow, at times it emits a single harsh note like that of the eave swallow. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Part 1 (of 2) Arthur Cleveland Bent […]
- Barnwood
aged and weathered boards, especially those salvaged from dismantled barns: The den was paneled in barnwood.
- Barnyard
Also called barnlot. a yard next to or surrounding a barn. of, relating to, or typical of a barnyard: barnyard noises; simple paintings of barnyard life. indecent; smutty; vulgar: His barnyard humor made us all blush. Contemporary Examples When I went into the barnyard,” he explained later during an interview, “I never saw a chicken […]
- Barnyard golf
Informal: Facetious. the game of horseshoes. noun phrase The game of horseshoe pitching (1920s+)
- Barnyard grass
a weedy, coarse grass, Echinochloa crus-galli, having a spikelike cluster of flowers. Historical Examples barnyard grass (Panicum crusgalli) behaved like pigweed, and ‘needed considerable attention.’ Appletons’ Popular Science Monthly, May 1899 Various