kitchen sink

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A sink in a kitchen used for washing crockery, cutlery, utensils, food, etc., and…

   A sink in a kitchen used for washing crockery, cutlery, utensils, food, etc., and disposing of waste.

   • The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes.
   • The present trouble centres round the kitchen sink. It is cracked and leaks.
2. 2

   A miscellaneous item or a miscellany, especially exemplifying an indiscriminate profusion.

   • They threw the kitchen sink at the problem, but still couldn’t fix it.
   • The morning shows are now kitchen sinks, sometimes setting the network's news agenda for the day with interviews […] but always repeating bits of the previous night's newscasts, while promoting what's going to air on that night's shows.
3. 3

   In chained or tied to the kitchen sink, etc.

   In chained or tied to the kitchen sink, etc.: domestic chores or housework, especially when regarded as menial and tedious.

4. ›+ 7 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A thing regarded as defiled due to corruption, immorality, etc.

   2. 5

      Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century realist style of painting in Britain characterized…

      Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century realist style of painting in Britain characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors such as kitchens in the homes of urban working-class people; also, of or pertaining to an artist or group of artists painting in this style.

      • It is evident that neither objectivity nor abstraction is the aim of the young painters of the kitchen-sink school.
      • [T]here are a number of instances of [John] Berger promoting the four artists known as the Beaux Arts Quartet, or the Kitchen Sink painters—John Bratby, Jack Smith, Edward Middleditch and Derrick Greaves.
   3. 6

      Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century (especially 1950s–1960s) genre of drama, fiction,…

      Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century (especially 1950s–1960s) genre of drama, fiction, etc., in Britain depicting the harsh lives of working-class people; also, of or pertaining to a film, novel, play, etc., of this genre.

   4. 7

      To make (something) overly complicated or elaborate

      To make (something) overly complicated or elaborate; to overcomplicate, to overwork.

   5. 8

      To raise to (someone) unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument.

   6. 9

      To release (a large amount of information about the poor financial results of a company)…

      To release (a large amount of information about the poor financial results of a company) in one go, in the hope that there will be less impact.

   7. 10

      To raise unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument.

The neighborhood

• neighborkitchen-sinking