laundry list

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

laundry list (plural laundry lists)

2. (archaic) Originally, a list of articles of clothing that had been sent to be laundered.
   • 1920, Scouting for Girls: Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts, First Edition, The Girl Scouts, Inc., page 126:

     Learn how to make out a laundry list and to check it when the laundry comes home.

4. (idiomatic, by extension) A long and often tedious list of items.

   Synonym: litany

   • 2007 July 31, Ceri Au, “Fighting for the Right to Flush”, in Time:

     Among the laundry list of inconveniences most of us can't abide: cold coffee, airport delays, the high price of gasoline.

   • 2013 October 31, Rowena Mason, quoting David Steel, “Lord Steel criticises culture of spin and tweeting in modern politics”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The senior Liberal Democrat, echoing the private views of other senior figures across parties, said a daily "laundry list" sent out by the party headquarters contributes to the "diminution of individual expression or even thought in politics" as politicians are expected to repeat a positive central message over and over again.

6. (colloquial) An unrealistic list of skills, qualifications and experiences, as demanded by employers when hiring staff.
7. (colloquial, by extension) An equally unrealistic skill set claimed by a candidate on a résumé.

See also

• (generally): laundry mark, checklist, shopping list, to-do list
• (unrealistic list of skills): purple squirrel, unicorn