Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
Often celebrities are branded 'trainwreck' in gossip blogs, due to evident bad behaviour: such as falling out of nightclubs, getting involved in violence, and drug abuse. Such celebrities have recently included [[Britney Spears]],<ref name="britney">{{cite news|url=http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/breaking-news/britney-spears-breast-implants-may-be-no-more-6100.html|title=Britney Spears’ Breast Implants May Be No More|date=July 27, 2009|publisher=''[http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/ The Plastic Surgery Channel]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> [[Lindsay Lohan]],<ref name="lohan">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2009/07/lindsay_lohans_obsession_hits.php|title=Lindsay Lohan's Obsession Hits Chop Suey Tomorrow|last=Hobart|first=Erika|date=July 27, 2009|publisher=''[[Seattle Weekly]]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> and [[Sarah Palin]].<ref name="palin">{{cite news|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/09/1990633.aspx|title=GOP Watch: The Palin 'Train Wreck'?|last=Montanaro|first=Domenico|date=July 9, 2009|publisher=''[[MSNBC]]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> |
Often celebrities are branded 'trainwreck' in gossip blogs, due to evident bad behaviour: such as falling out of nightclubs, getting involved in violence, and drug abuse. Such celebrities have recently included [[Britney Spears]],<ref name="britney">{{cite news|url=http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/breaking-news/britney-spears-breast-implants-may-be-no-more-6100.html|title=Britney Spears’ Breast Implants May Be No More|date=July 27, 2009|publisher=''[http://www.theplasticsurgerychannel.com/ The Plastic Surgery Channel]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> [[Lindsay Lohan]],<ref name="lohan">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2009/07/lindsay_lohans_obsession_hits.php|title=Lindsay Lohan's Obsession Hits Chop Suey Tomorrow|last=Hobart|first=Erika|date=July 27, 2009|publisher=''[[Seattle Weekly]]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> and [[Sarah Palin]].<ref name="palin">{{cite news|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/09/1990633.aspx|title=GOP Watch: The Palin 'Train Wreck'?|last=Montanaro|first=Domenico|date=July 9, 2009|publisher=''[[MSNBC]]''|accessdate=August 1, 2009}}</ref> |
||
==Other uses== |
|||
Trainwreck is also the name applied to a potent strain of marijuana ([[cannabis sativa]]).<ref>http://www.cannabis-seeds.co.uk/products/1079/trainwreck.html</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/fashion/sundaystyles/12POT.html | title = Medical Marijuana, a Casual User's Tale | last = Anderson | first = Lessley | date = June 12, 2005 | accessdate = 2009-02-09 | work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aVi6eu3oFtKE | title = Marijuana Clubs in San Francisco Unfazed by High Court's Ruling | publisher = [[Bloomberg.com]] | last = Gullo | first = Karen | date = June 7, 2005 | accessdate = 2009-02-09 }}</ref> |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 10:50, 23 September 2009
A train wreck most often occurs as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track, or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment, or when a boiler explosion occurs.
Legal consequences
Because train wrecks usually cause widespread property damage as well as injury or death, the intentional wrecking of a train in regular service is often treated as an extremely serious crime. For example, in the U.S. state of California, the penalty for intentionally causing a non-fatal train wreck is life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.[1] For a fatal train wreck, the possible sentences are either life without the possibility of parole, or death.
As metaphor
The term is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a disaster that is foreseeable but unavoidable. For example, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has asserted that a government shutdown would be a "train wreck."[2]
The term "train wreck" is also used metaphorically to describe something disastrous yet inevitable, or distasteful yet morbidly fascinating. "You don't want to stare, but you just can't look away" is a common summary of this phenomenon (this definition is used by "Weird Al" Yankovic in his song Jerry Springer).
Often celebrities are branded 'trainwreck' in gossip blogs, due to evident bad behaviour: such as falling out of nightclubs, getting involved in violence, and drug abuse. Such celebrities have recently included Britney Spears,[3] Lindsay Lohan,[4] and Sarah Palin.[5]
Other uses
Trainwreck is also the name applied to a potent strain of marijuana (cannabis sativa).[6][7][8]
See also
- List of rail accidents:
- Emergency management
- Crash at Crush Texas
- Category:Railroad accident victims
- Wreck of the Tennessee Gravy Train (metaphorical)
References
- ^ "Section 219". California Penal Code. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
{{cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ Holman, Kwame (1996-11-20). "The State of Newt"". PBS. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ "Britney Spears' Breast Implants May Be No More". The Plastic Surgery Channel. July 27, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: External link in
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
|publisher=
(help) - ^ Hobart, Erika (July 27, 2009). "Lindsay Lohan's Obsession Hits Chop Suey Tomorrow". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Montanaro, Domenico (July 9, 2009). "GOP Watch: The Palin 'Train Wreck'?". MSNBC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ http://www.cannabis-seeds.co.uk/products/1079/trainwreck.html
- ^ Anderson, Lessley (June 12, 2005). "Medical Marijuana, a Casual User's Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- ^ Gullo, Karen (June 7, 2005). "Marijuana Clubs in San Francisco Unfazed by High Court's Ruling". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2009-02-09.