bricolage

[ bree-kuh-lahzh, brik-uh- ]

noun

, plural bri·co·la·ges [bree-k, uh, -, lah, -zhiz, ‑-, lahzh], bri·co·lage.

1. a construction made of whatever materials are at hand; something created from a variety of available things.
2. (in literature) a piece created from diverse resources.
3. (in art) a piece of makeshift handiwork.
4. the use of multiple, diverse research methods.

bricolage

/ ˈbrɪkəˌlɑːʒ; brɪkɔlaʒ /

noun

1. the jumbled effect produced by the close proximity of buildings from different periods and in different architectural styles
2. the deliberate creation of such an effect in certain modern developments

   the post-modernist bricolage of the new shopping centre

Word History and Origins

Origin of bricolage¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from French, literally, “do-it-yourself,” from bricoler “to do odd jobs, small chores,” from Middle French bricoler “to zigzag, bounce off,” from Old French bricole “a trifle, bricole ( def ) ” + -age -age ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of bricolage¹

French: odd jobs, do-it-yourself

Example Sentences

He appears to have blurted out the overtime policy as part of what the Irish writer Fintan O’Toole aptly describes as “the surreal bricolage of his rally speeches.”

From Los Angeles Times

That resourcefulness has developed into an art of exhilarating bricolage, of functioning objects that are greater than the sum of their pieced-together parts.

From New York Times

Calle makes this explicit in the patterning of “The Hotel,” which eschews chronology in favor of bricolage.

From Los Angeles Times

This bricolage surprisingly coheres by the novel’s end into an authentic expression of a mind striving to comprehend the inexplicable cruelties of the universe and humanity’s most proper response.

From Washington Post

Wright brings his familiar scattershot style to an essentially conventional biopic, his bricolage approach entailing generous dollops of home movies, family photos, archival footage, cheeky animations and talking-head interviews.

From Washington Post