Johnny-one-note love

Johnny-one-note

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun idiomatic, Canada A person (or organization) who often expresses a strong opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects.
  • noun idiomatic, Canada An opinion or viewpoint on a single subject or a few particular subjects which is frequently expressed by a person or organization.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

"Johnny One Note" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. The lyrics tell a story of a male vocalist named Johnny who sang with a band and could sing only one note, but sang that note extremely well.

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Examples

  • Weingarten agreed with Duncan on improving teacher ratings, saying they have been "Johnny-one-note about changing evaluation systems."

    Beck: No Beck-Palin 2012 ticket; Crist supports gay marriage ban; Meek 'pretty sure' Obama will stump for him 2010

  • When you get right down to it, realpolitik is merely macho politics -- a kind of Johnny-one-note foreign policy.

    Philip Slater: Realpolitik vs. Reality 2008

  • And Serra is no Johnny-one-note, even within this show.

    Sculpture For The Soul 2007

  • "Johnny-one-note civil libertarians uttering fallacious slogans," peddling "bromides about free speech," and obsessing over "coercive interrogation" may object that such measures break constitutional norms.

    Very Bad News Geertz, Clifford 2005

  • You must not let these variables throw you, or lead you away from the knowledge that you have a perspective to offer, a contribution to make, and are more than a Johnny-one-note.

    Making Work Work Julie Morgenstern 2004

  • You must not let these variables throw you, or lead you away from the knowledge that you have a perspective to offer, a contribution to make, and are more than a Johnny-one-note.

    Making Work Work Julie Morgenstern 2004

  • Because Reich, unlike shrill Johnny-one-note Paul Krugman, is a master of the art of persuasive writing.

    Forbes.com: News Bill Frezza 2011

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