Heath Robinson

Posted by R. Berg on June 04, 2003

In Reply to: Heath Robinson posted by James Briggs on June 04, 2003

: Some of you know that I have a collection of phrase origins called 'The Bedtime Browser'. I get regular requests and messages about phrase origins - two today, of which one came from a reporter with Esquire magazine in New York.
: The other author was intrigued why I hadn't included the phrase 'It's a bit of a Heath Robinson' in my list (for those of you who are unfamiliar with this phrase, it's well known in British English and means a situation of apparent muddle, mess, over complication etc). It is named after a famous English cartoonist whose work was characterised by drawings of pieces of equipment, often very over-elaborate, designed to perform apparently simple/unnecessary tasks.
: The author supplied a link to many of the Heath Robinson drawings - a wonderful site and well worth a visit. I thought you all would like to know of it and so I've posted this message. Other parts of the site are also worth a look.
: Is the expression known elsewhere in the English speaking world?
: The link is below

I hadn't heard of Mr. Robinson. In the U.S. we speak of "a Rube Goldberg contraption." Mr. Goldberg's cartoons similarly illustrated fanciful, overelaborate devices for doing something simple.

• Heath Robinson ESC 06/04/03