English

Noun

tumbleweed moment ‎(plural tumbleweed moments)

1. (Britain, figuratively, broadcasting) A period of dead air or stony, unresponsive silence.
   • 2004, July the 14^th: Laura Davis, “Arts Diary: STAGE QUIZ”, Daily Post (Liverpool, England) :

     …real life television news quizzes have the benefit of careful editing to remove the tumbleweed moments.

   • 2005, April the 1^st: Trevor Wright, How to Be a Brilliant English Teacher, page 78 (Routledge; ISBN 041533246X (10), ISBN 978-0415332460 (13)):

     When you’re wondering if they might just sit there self-consciously not saying anything (a tumbleweed moment) you need to get away from the centre-front, start moving around.

   • 2005, December the 19^th: Robert Stansfield, “Gimp ad to shame litter louts”, The Mirror (London, England):

     Peter Gibson, of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “in a world of daft pranks, we want littering to be that tumbleweed moment, the joke that falls flat on its face.”

See also

• deafening silence