Heath Robinson
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
I used the expression ‘Heath Robinson’ on my blog the other day. I didn’t give it a second thought until someone, DB, I believe, said he had looked it up to see if it meant what he thought it meant.
Heath Robinson is a British aphorism to describe a solution or gadget that is over-engineered for the task in hand, and completely impractical. A simple solution is overlooked for a far more complex improvised one.
More frequently, it describes a temporary, often ingenious solution to a problem, using whatever might come to hand in the vicinity. It’s usually rickety and prone to failure if not incessantly tinkered with.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The phrase originates from William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) He was an English cartoonist and book illustrator from a family of artists and became well-known for his capricious drawings of impossibly complicated machines. For instance, a simple device like an egg whisk might employ winches, switches, cogs, and lengths of knotted string. Another could show a machine driven by steam from a kettle heated by candles.
The First World War (1914-1918) inspired Heath Robinson to imagine a series of bizarre secret contraptions for the opposing armies to out-manoeuvre each other. Among the many cartoons he produced was one for ‘an armoured bayonet curler.’
The phrase ‘Heath Robinson’ became a part of British armed forces slang during WWI and thereafter was adopted by the general public. In WWII (1939-1945) codebreakers at Bletchley Park called one of the early computing machines ‘the Heath Robinson.’
The American equivalent of Heath Robinson is Rube Goldberg, while the Danes have Storm Petersen.
Nick Park’s inventions in the ‘Wallace and Gromit’ films are worthy descendants of Heath Robinson.
The first cartoon is brilliant. I remember these cartoons from my early teenage years, but I had no understanding of why they were drawn.
ReplyDeleteHe was a brilliant cartoonist. The detail in some of his work is incredible.
DeleteWell, I've never heard of this saying but I bet it's had a lot of very humorous uses.
ReplyDeleteWe have used it a lot in our lives . . .
DeleteAha! I sort of figured that was what it meant, but thank you for this whole story.
ReplyDeleteMy son Aaron devised a very long pulley system when he was a kid, so that he could let the chickens out of their coop without getting out of bed. Nowadays he's a sort of MacGyver guy in his job, and well paid forbit.
Well done, your son. We need more people with excellent lateral thinking skills.
DeleteA Heath Robinson machine is proof that humanity can turn a two-second task into a masterpiece of ingenuity, optimism, and impending mechanical failure
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be different! 😉
DeleteI lived and worked in London/Herts for two years and have made 6 other trips since, yet I have _never_ heard that expression.
ReplyDeleteI wish you were here since there were many times that I needed an expression to cover a solution that is over-engineered for a particular task and was completely impractical.
Now you have one! MacGyver is another (American) one.
DeleteI have never heard of Heath Robinson, nor seen these cartoons. I am reminded of Dr Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, with all of his over complicated solutions to simple problems.
ReplyDeleteSheldon is my 10-year-old grandson's favourite character in the Big Bang.
DeleteMy father used the expression all the time. 'It's a bit Heath Robinson but it does the job'. Seems like your overseas readers are not familiar with it. Must be very British.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me realise how parochial we are.
DeleteI've never come across this expression, or if I have, I can't remember. Anyway, thank you for letting me learn something today :-) (again)
ReplyDelete😃
DeleteIt’s one of those expressions I assume everyone knows but then I’ve not heard of Rube or Storm . There was a Major General Gubbins in WW2 who had that sort of mind & invented lots of weird & wonderful contraptions for SOE . His sometimes worked though . We still use the word gubbins for paraphernalia in our house .
ReplyDeleteWendy in York
We use gubbins, too. It's a very satisfying word.
DeleteIt’s one of those expressions I assume everyone knows but then I’ve not heard of Rube or Storm . There was a Major General Gubbins in WW2 who had that sort of mind & invented lots of weird & wonderful contraptions for SOE . His sometimes worked though . We still use the word gubbins for paraphernalia in our house .
ReplyDeleteWendy in York
We use gubbins, too. It's a very satisfying word.
DeleteI did recognize the expression but as far as I know have never used it. I really have no idea where I learned it. Perhaps from a long-forgotten English author.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you have little need for Heath Robinson contraptions! 😉
DeleteI've never heard this saying. The cartoons are delightful though
ReplyDelete
DeleteHe was a clever cartoonist.
Funny how sayings from the past hit the right spot, Heath Robinson affair always brought to mind a tangle of wires.
ReplyDeleteYes! That's very apt.
DeleteI love Heath Robinson. Like Wallace and Grommit, he seems so quintessentially British
ReplyDeleteThe essentially eccentric Englishman.
DeleteI often use that expression. I am surprised people have not heard of it.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder how many other expressions we use that are completely foreign to non-Brits.
DeleteMany! ;-)
DeleteI think I have a Heath Robinson flower pruner inherited from my grandfather. It’s quite the contraption. New simpler medoles work just fine, but it’s a nice piece to have.
ReplyDeleteClever contraptions are always welcome, however old or complicated they are, especially if they're been handed down.
DeleteThanks for another informative post, I loved the Danish version…..
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
😃
DeleteImpractical, maybe, but also ingenous!
ReplyDeleteProducts of a fertile imagination!
DeleteAh, I was going to add that Wallace is the new Heath Robinson but you got in first.
ReplyDeleteI love Wallace and Gromit - they never fail to amuse.
DeleteWe call those contraptions Rube Goldberg.
ReplyDelete😃
DeleteI am so glad you mentioned Rube Goldberg, because I was trying to remember the name we use in the USA. I never knew the source of Heath Robinson so thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThey were almost contemporaries.
DeleteThanks for explaining so clearly the meaning and origin of the term "Heath Robinson". Your blog remains a treasure house of quirky knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThank you. 😃
DeleteI don't recall ever having heard that expression but I am well-acquainted with Rube Goldberg!
ReplyDeleteRube Goldberg was an interesting man.
DeleteI never heard of Heath Robinson, neither as an expression or the cartoonist (that I can remember, anyway). Thanks for the introduction!
ReplyDelete😃
DeleteDon't you just love those Heath Robinson drawings, I do!
ReplyDeleteThe details are incredible.
Deletethe meaning might have become a bit corrupted out here in the colony whete it tends these days to mean something maintained working by the application of No 8 wire and bailing twine - cobbled together - your second definition.
ReplyDelete. . . or as we call it in this house, 'a Barry bodge job.'
DeleteFunny.... I'm familiar Heath Robinson but not the American version (Rube Goldberg?). I suspect it is because I've read a great number of books regarding Bletchley Park, the codebreakers, and WWII generally.
ReplyDeleteThe parents of one of our friends met at Bletchley Park. As you might expect, our friend was mathematically very bright!
DeleteSo pleased you mentioned Nick Park’s inventions in the wonderful Wallace and Gromit.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
His work is wonderful. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have seen Ed Miliband's likeness to Wallace!
DeleteAcross the pond we had Rube Gloldberg. My blog post is about my brother who had those building tendencies, also.
ReplyDeleteI shall have a look forthwith.
DeleteI'm married to a man with that inclination, too.
Yes, it was I. Thank you! I continue to learn and love what you teach me.
ReplyDeleteI find that we all learn from each other. That's one of the pleasures of blogging.
DeleteInteresting post. Love the cartoons!
ReplyDeleteA very imaginative mind.
DeleteI always enjoy coming here to see what fascinating subject will be on the menu. You never disappoint :)
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of you, Denise. Thank you. 😃
ReplyDelete