Definitions

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

  • noun Any of several intense arc lamps used in cinematography

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From "John H. Kliegl" and "Anton T. Kliegl", the original inventors

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Examples

  • At last June's state Democratic convention, Leticia Van de Putte was all set for the kind of klieg-light moment that ambitious pols lust after.

    The Texas Observer: In the Current Issue 2009

  • Each has always been carrying something; a fragment of a leaf, a segment of sticks, a bundle wrapped in canvas, a klieg light.

    Anti-Sequence stephen hastings-king 2011

  • Shooting flames, smoke machines, klieg lights, back arching/lip curling guitarist posers -- it's "Dancing with the Stars" first ever Rock 'n' Roll night!

    'Dancing with the Stars' rock week: We watch so you don't have to Lisa de Moraes 2010

  • Moved along by a gaggle of television cameras, overhead microphones and klieg lights, Roland Burris of Illinois entered the Capitol Building today even though the Senate leadership had refused to seat him as the replacement for Barack Obama.

    Burris Enters, Then Leaves the Capitol - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2009

  • At the same time, he would have to flesh out his positions on dozens of issues, from financial regulation to foreign policy, all under the klieg lights of a national campaign and upcoming candidate debates, two of them in October alone.

    Christie Decision Down to the Wire Neil King Jr. 2011

  • They carry small bundles, little klieg lights and tiny cameras.

    Anti-Sequence stephen hastings-king 2011

  • Some New York revelers, wearing party hats and "2012" glasses, began camping out Saturday morning, even as workers readied bags stuffed with hundreds of balloons and technicians put colored filters on klieg lights.

    New Year's Eve 2011: Celebrations Around The World 2011

  • While George W. Bush professes to feeling liberated in his new anonymity — he recently told a high school class in New Mexico a story about the rediscovered task of cleaning up after his dog on a walk — Cheney has sought the klieg lights and broken tradition by immediately going after the new president.

    Why Cheney, and why now? 2009

  • That's not exactly news, and just because he left a trail of e-mails that would make a romance novel writer cringe doesn't make him a complete embarrassment; billets-doux don't hold up well under klieg lights.

    Judgment Day for Mark Sanford 2009

  • But the klieg lights had barely dimmed when anonymous "law enforcement authorities" began attacking the NYPD's case and its methods.

    New York Police and the FBI Feud Over a Terrorist Case Judith Miller 2011

Comments

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  • In full, klieg light. Orig., a kind of arc lamp invented for use as a studio light; hence, any powerful electric light used in film-making, or in television.

    Usage: 1927 U. SINCLAIR Oil! xiv. 355 The kleigs glare upon them, and a dozen moving picture cameras grind.

    See also: klieg eyes

    February 5, 2007