round robin

Related to round robin: Round robin scheduling

round robin

1. In sports, a tournament in which all participants must face everyone else in successive turns. Hyphenated if used as a modifier before a noun. Because we had an odd number of teams, we decided to make the tournament a round robin. There will be four round-robin competitions, with the winner of each one going into a final bracket on Sunday.
2. A document signed in a circle around the edges to mask the order of the signatures (so that a leader of the message cannot be identified). Employees opposing the move have decided to send a round robin to management outlining their protest.
See also: robin, round
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

round robin

1. A petition or other document signed by several persons in sequence, so that no one can tell who was the first to sign it. For example, We decided to send a round robin to management to protest the new rules about work hours . This term originally referred to a grievance presented by seamen to their captain, called round because of the circular sequence of names, but the source of robin has been lost. [Early 1700s]
2. In sports, a tournament in which each player or team plays against all of the others in turn. For example, The club always holds a tennis round robin on the Fourth of July. [Late 1800s]
See also: robin, round
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a ˌround ˈrobin

a letter of protest, etc. that has been signed by many people in such a way that no single person can be blamed or punished for sending it: Did you sign that round robin that was sent to the manager this week?This comes from the navy. Originally it was a letter of protest in which the signatures were written in a circle so that nobody could see who had signed it first.
See also: robin, round
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a round robin
  • eleventh hour
  • heads I win, tails you lose
  • black market
  • a light touch
  • first hand
  • rust bucket
  • good for nothing
  • good-for-nothing
  • a broth of a boy
References in periodicals archive
Round robins, row quilts, block exchanges, online bees--quilts made by a group are often more than the sum of their parts.
Quiltmaker's Top Tips for Group Quilts
At minor level, Galway will enter the competition in a round robin against the beaten Leinster and Munster finalists, with the top two progressing to the All-Ireland semi-final.
'It's worst decision in the GAA's history' GAA SPECIAL CONGRESS; LANDMARK DAY FOR HURLING AS DELEGATES IGNORE WATERFORD WARNING ON REFORM
Major advantage of round robin load balancing algorithm is that it can be implemented easily [23].
Efficient load balancing algorithm for cloud computing using divisible load scheduling and weighted round robin methods
The vast majority responded in favor of the new format, saying they enjoyed the round robin and preferred it to sitting in a dark theatre going through endless PowerPoints.
The safety stand down: reimagined
The local Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club team skippered by Adam Middleton took an early jump on the fleet winning all seven of their first round robin matches.
Podium performance: Murray Jones finishes third at the Centreport International Yacht Match Racing Regatta
I am not as grateful as perhaps I should be when this missive drops through my letterbox because there's something about round robins that I find both disturbing and yet deeply fascinating.
Revolting students and round robin letters
The current round robin format means that a player can lose even two matches at this stage and still make it through to the semi-finals, depending on number of sets won and lost.
Tennis blog: Going round in circles
* FRIDAY Match 1: TBA Completion of Round Robin (1st Foursomes 7.30; 1st Singles 12.15); Match 2: TBA Completion of Round Robin (1st Foursomes 8.10; 1st Singles 13.35).
HILLSIDE SCHEDULE
WITH the Tri-Nations at an end, New Zealand have revamped their domestic championship into a ten-week round robin to satisfy local appetites ahead of the World Cup.
Rugby Union: Easy start for 2006 champs
Harlequin, a publisher of romance novels, has announced that it has launched four new digital initiatives: the Harlequin Mini eBooks programme, the Harlequin Mini Round Robin eBook, the eBook Boutique and a new website at http://www.writeharlequin.com.
Harlequin launches new online initiatives
The Hamster that Loved Puccini: The Seven Modern Sins of Christmas Round Robin Letters, by Simon Hoggart (Atlantic Books, pounds 9.99)
HUMOUR; WEEKEND: BOOKS
The purpose of the program is to help ASTM technical committees with their round robin testing by removing the administrative burdens from the committees.
ASTM creates administrative assistance program; Provides updates on standards
All four schools taking part -Hurst, Altbridge, Merseyview and Crosby High -produced an incredibly high standard of netball, with the Hurst team showing excellent fine form during the early stages of the round robin tournament.
Junior Xsport: Hurst on a high in final fling
The identification process involves the distribution and evaluation of candidate reference materials called "round robins." Results of the first round robin were published in 2001.
The standardization of troponin I assays: an update