Rube Goldberg machine

English

A Rube Goldberg machine which makes orange juice.

Etymology

Named for Rube Goldberg, an American cartoonist, who drew many such machines.

Noun

Rube Goldberg machine (plural Rube Goldberg machines)

1. (US) A comical, overcomplicated machine which performs a simple task.

   Synonym: (UK) Heath Robinson contraption

2. (by extension) Anything that is overly complicated.
   • 2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club‎^[1]:

     To be overly cynical myself, that is still the macro view. Littlefinger’s execution and the white walkers passing through the rubble of the Wall are just two observations that this enormous Rube Goldberg machine is running on time.

Translations

comically overcomplicated machine

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 魯布·戈德堡機械／鲁布·戈德堡机械

• Dutch: Rube Goldbergmachine
• French: usine à gaz (fr)
• German: Rube-Goldberg-Maschine
• Hungarian: Rube Goldberg-gép (hu)
• Japanese: ルーブ・ゴールドバーグ・マシン; ピタゴラスイッチ (pitagora suicchi); ピタゴラ装置 (pitagora sōchi)
• Spanish: Máquina de Rube Goldberg
• Swedish: Rube Goldberg-maskin
• Turkish: Rube Goldberg makinesi; Zihni Sinir Proceleri