lollapalooza

lol·la·pa·loo·za
L1O1L1L1A1P3A1L1O1O1Z10A1
US/ˌlɑləpəˈluzə/UK/ˌlɒləpəˈluːzə/

noun

An outstanding, extreme, or outrageous example of its kind.

Meanings

nounlollapalooza (plural lollapaloozas)

plural lollapaloozas · alternative lallapalooza · alternative lalapalooza · alternative lallapaloosa · alternative lolapalooza · alternative lolapaloosa · alternative lollapaloosa

  1. informalAn outstanding, extreme, or outrageous example of its kind.

    Here is a novel of low comedy and high raillery. It's a lollapalooza that turns out to be a comic elegy for old-time radio.

    1991 Nov. 3, Studs Terkel, "Keillor's elegy to randy radio" (Book Review of WLT A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor), Chicago Sun-Times (retrieved 23 July 2011)
    2 more examples

    When the show-down came, the other players informed him he had lost. One man had turned up a 2-4-6-8-9 of varied suits. ¶ "That," they all exclaimed, "is a Lollapalooza. It beats anything—even a Royal Flush."

    1948, George Taubeneck, The Marshal's Baton: The Specialty Sales Manager, Detroit: Conjure House, →OCLC, page 98

    Far from the grand events that were once considered – speaking to Parliament or a more modest version of the lollapalooza that brought millions into Chicago streets – this six-hour hi-how-are-you redefines low key.

    2009 February 17, Jim Travers, “Harper's political payoff is the photo-op”, in Toronto Star

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Unknown. Compare lollypaloozer and lallapalootza, which are attested earlier with similar meaning. Compare also 19th century slang la-la something unusually good.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech úlet, cufíl
  • úletoutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
  • cufíloutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
Finnish omituisuus, kummallisuus
  • omituisuusoutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
  • kummallisuusoutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
German Knaller, Knüller
  • Knalleroutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
  • Knülleroutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
  • Kracheroutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
Polish rewelacja, odjazd
  • rewelacjaoutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
  • odjazdoutstanding; extreme; outrageous example of its kind
Cite this entry
APA

lollapalooza. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lollapalooza

MLA

“lollapalooza.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lollapalooza. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lollapalooza,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lollapalooza.

Source: lollapalooza on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.