Idiom
chrome horn
Meaning
The front bumper of a car when used to bump another vehicle, usually to inform the driver of the other vehicle that the first car would like to pass.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He used his chrome horn to tell the slow car to move.”
“He taps the truck ahead with his chrome horn to ask for space.”
“The driver in front refused to speed up, so she gave him a quick nudge with her chrome horn.”
“If you drive too slowly in the fast lane, some aggressive drivers might use their chrome horn to push you out of the way.”
“The racer was stuck behind a slower car for three laps before he finally decided to apply the chrome horn on the straightaway.”
“Frustrated by the sluggish pace of the traffic, the impatient motorist deployed his chrome horn to signal his intent to overtake the dawdling vehicle ahead.”
Examples
simple
“He used his chrome horn to tell the slow car to move.”
“He taps the truck ahead with his chrome horn to ask for space.”
contextual
“The driver in front refused to speed up, so she gave him a quick nudge with her chrome horn.”
“If you drive too slowly in the fast lane, some aggressive drivers might use their chrome horn to push you out of the way.”
“The racer was stuck behind a slower car for three laps before he finally decided to apply the chrome horn on the straightaway.”
complex
“Frustrated by the sluggish pace of the traffic, the impatient motorist deployed his chrome horn to signal his intent to overtake the dawdling vehicle ahead.”
Origin
The phrase originates from NASCAR broadcasts during the 1970s, a period when stock cars were still equipped with chrome bumpers. It describes the practice of a driver using their front bumper to nudge a competitor out of the way, effectively using the car's chrome as a horn to announce their arrival and request passage.
Key words
Related idioms
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