tubelight

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tubelight

/ˈtjuːbˌlaɪt/ UK
/ˈt(j)ubˌlaɪt/ US

Where it comes from

From tube + light. Sense 2 (“dim-witted person”) refers to the tendency of some fluorescent tubes to flicker as well as the length of time it takes for some to light up completely after being switched on, which is likened to a person whose knowledge is inconsistent or who takes time to understand things.

noun tubelights · tube light

India, South Asia, especially Synonym of fluorescent lamp (“a gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light, especially one consisting of a tube filled with mercury vapour which emits ultraviolet radiation when an electric current is passed through it, causing fluorescence when the radiation hits a phosphor coating on the interior of the tube”); also, a light fixture containing one or more fluorescent lamps. Tubelights can be very troublesome at times. They flicker on and on but refuse to glow. One may find to his surprise that while this is the case with his tubelight, his neighbour's tubelight in another apartment of the same block is functioning quite well. The problem is more prevalent in the evenin
Similar: fluorescent lamp
India, derogatory, slang A person who is slow to reply or understand; a dim-witted person. And Modiji [Narendra Modi], also being Snarkyji, described Rahulji [Rahul Gandhi] as a tubelight because Rahulji had interjected only a good 40 minutes after Modiji had launched into his Parliamentary speech. […] CFL bulbs and LED lamps have now taken the place of tubelights, and younger citizens ma
Similar: alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither, bobchin, bonehead, bozo, buffoon

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MLA

"tubelight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tubelight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tubelight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tubelight

Chicago

"tubelight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tubelight.

BibTeX

@misc{tubelight_2026,
  title = {tubelight},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tubelight},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}