barnburner

American  

[bahrn-bur-ner] / ˈbɑrnˌbɜr nər /

noun

1. Informal. something that is highly exciting, impressive, etc..

   The All Stars game was a real barnburner.

2. Chiefly Pennsylvania. a wooden friction match.

3. (initial capital letter) a member of the progressive faction in the Democratic Party in New York State 1845–52.

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Usage

What does barnburner mean? A barnburner is something that is especially exciting, thrilling, or impressive. It’s most commonly applied to sports games.Barnburner is a sports cliché. It’s especially used to refer to matchups that are consistently exciting throughout the entire game and then go down to wire, which is another sports cliché that means that they’re not decided until the very end of the game.Example: Did you catch that triple-overtime game last night? What a barnburner!

Etymology

Origin of barnburner

1835–45, barn ¹ + burner; barnburner ( def. 3 ) so called with reference to burning down a barn to get rid of rats

Example Sentences

After a banner year for pop music, Sunday's Grammy award show was quite the barnburner for pop culture discourse.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2023

On Saturday, the neighborhood kids beat Laguna Beach, a Southern Section program that’s recorded 38 passing touchdowns on the year, in a 56-55 barnburner for the CIF Division 4-A regional title.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2022

With the way this weekend’s games went, another such barnburner seems likely.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2022

And he closed with “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” a quiet, doleful song, instead of the barnburner “Born to Run.”

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2021

Although the movie wasn’t a barnburner in theaters, it has proved to be a outsized performer, first on Netflix and now on Disney Plus.

From Washington Post • May 5, 2021