bandwagon

To join, follow, or support someone or something only after it is successful or popular. I can't stand these people who just climb on the bandwagon after a win. Where were they last year when the team was terrible? A: "I thought your mom hated that candidate." B: "Well, he's the president now, so she's climbed on the bandwagon."

To join, follow, or support someone or something only after it is successful or popular. I can't stand these people who just get on the bandwagon after a win. Where were they last year when the team was terrible? A: "I thought your mom hated that candidate." B: "Well, he's the president now, so she decided to get on the bandwagon."

To join or follow something once it is successful or popular. I can't stand these people who just jump on the bandwagon after a win. Where were they last year when the team was terrible? A: "I thought your mom hated that candidate." B: "Well, he's the president now, so she decided to jump on the bandwagon."

To join or follow something once it is successful or popular. I can't stand these people who just leap on the bandwagon after a win. Where were they last year when the team was terrible? A: "I thought your mom hated that candidate." B: "Well, he's the president now, so she just leaped on the bandwagon."

Having joined or following along with what is successful, popular, or common among the majority of people. I don't think most people actually care about his politics, they just like getting on the bandwagon of outrage. You're not a fan! You just climb on the bandwagon whenever the team is in the playoffs.

Fig. on the popular side (of an issue); taking a popular position. (*Typically: be ~; climb ~; get ~; hop ~; jump ~.) You really should get on the bandwagon. Everyone else is. Jane has always had her own ideas about things. She's not the kind of person to jump on the bandwagon.

Also, climb or hop or jump on the bandwagon . Join a cause or movement, as in More and more people are getting on the bandwagon to denounce cigarette smoking. This expression alludes to a horse-drawn wagon carrying a brass band, used to accompany candidates on campaign tours in the second half of the 1800s. By about 1900 it was extended to supporting a campaign or other cause.

COMMON If someone jumps on the bandwagon, they suddenly become involved in an activity because it is likely to succeed or it is fashionable. There will always be people ready to jump on the bandwagon and start classes in whatever is fashionable, with little or no training. Why are so many stars now jumping on the fashionable green bandwagon?. Note: Verbs such as climb, get, leap and join are sometimes used instead of jump. A lot of people are climbing on the bandwagon of selling financial services to women. Note: These expressions are usually used in a disapproving way. Note: You can also say that someone is bandwagon-jumping. We welcome any campaign on safety issues, but we don't like the bandwagon-jumping of this organization. Note: Bandwagon is also used in other phrases such as someone's bandwagon is rolling, to mean that an activity or movement is getting increasing support. Major's team believe his bandwagon is rolling with support coming from both sides of the party. Note: In American elections in the past, political rallies often included a band playing on a horse-drawn wagon (= a covered vehicle pulled by horses). Politicians sat on the wagon and those who wanted to show their support climbed on it.

To join the cause, movement, or party. The original bandwagon was a horse-drawn wagon bearing a brass band, used in a circus parade. In the second half of the nineteenth century such wagons began to be used in political campaigns as well, accompanying a candidate on speech-making tours. During William Jennings Bryan’s presidential campaign of 1900 the term began to be extended to mean supporting the movement itself. It also was used in Britain: “The Mirror . . . does not jump on bandwagons . . . it isn’t, never has been, and never will be a tin can tied to a political party’s tail” (Daily Mirror, 1966; cited by William Safire).