Heath Robinsonian

English Etymology From en Heath Robinson ian. Pronunciation en /hiːθɹɒbɪnˈsəʊnɪən/ 1 UK Adjective Elaborate and impractical. en 2011 w:Laurie R. King Pirate King Later, when I was not in quite such a vulnerable position, I decided that it was a ridiculously convoluted, Heath Robinsonian piece of machinery, a bit much even for Mycroft. en 2012 w:Christopher Clark The Sleepwalkers 127 Penguin 2013 In the eyes of the anti-Bismarck fronde, the chancellor's remarkable web of transcontinental commitments looked less like a system than a creaking Heath-Robinsonian contraption, a flimsy joist-work of ‘plasters and patches’ designed to avoid the pressing choices that confronted the German Empire in an increasingly dangerous world. en eponyms