dancing bear
Trained circus animal
A dancing bear is a bear trained to perform, historically for street entertainment—often through cruel methods.
The phrase now serves as a metaphor for someone or something that impresses not by excellence but by performing at all: The software works like a dancing bear—remarkable that it functions, but not that it functions well.
The point isn't how well it dances but that a bear is dancing.
- circusTraveling entertainment with performers
- performingExecuting an action
- trainedTaught a skill
- muzzleAnimal's nose area
- chainLinked segments forming length
trained animal · captive · animal cruelty · entertainer · gypsy · carnival · street · medieval · fairground · street performer · costume · tambourine · handler · spectacle · cruel · tricks · traveling show · leash
- circuscircus, big top, clown, clowns, ringmaster
- working animalsherding, gun dog, guarding, pulling, hunting dog
- Inuit artinukshuk, ivory carving, bone carving, stone sculpture, walrus ivory
- Court Entertainmentjesters, jester, court jester, court fool, fools
- variety actsacrobat, juggling, aerialist, magic, clown
- wind-up toyswind-up toy, wind-up car, chattering teeth, cymbal monkey, pull-back car