adj.
Of, relating to, or being a contrivance that brings about by complicated means what apparently could have been accomplished simply.
[After Reuben Lucius ("Rube") Goldberg (1883-1970), American cartoonist noted for his intricate diagrams of such contrivances.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
