Wile E. Coyote

English

Etymology

From Wile E. Coyote, a character from the cartoon Looney Tunes. “Wile E.” is a pun on wily.

Verb

Wile E. Coyote (informal)

1. To fail disastrously.
   • 2012 December 7, Libby Copeland, “Shop Before the Drop”, in New York‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: New York Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-22:

     In the worse scenario, with the nation Wile E. Coyote–ing over the fiscal cliff, not only will their taxes will go up but their net worth may suffer a double blow from a stock-market meltdown and/or a new economic recession.

   • 2014 December 13, A. J. McCarthy, “Cody Townsend, Couloir Killer”, in Slate‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-01-23:

     Dropped atop the couloir via helicopter, Townsend steps into his Salomons and descends on the narrow chute, pushing the limits of reason as he navigates the line at a clip of 65 to 70 miles per hour, with nothing more than a few turns to maintain control—or, in his words, to keep himself from Wile E. Coyote–ing himself into the wall at the end.

   • 2018 December 27, Roger Sollenberger, “The 17 Worst New York Times Headlines of 2018”, in Paste‎^[3], Decatur, G.A.: Paste Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-08:

     The GOP Wile E. Coyote'd their own argument, though, because they unavoidably also had to note that the initial FISA warrant applications also depended on information the FBI had acquired about Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, which was the inciting incident for the investigation and which predated the dossier.

   • 2020 May 26, Carolyn Hax, “Carolyn Hax: Feeling lost while living with girlfriend’s parents”, in The Washington Post‎^[4], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2020:

     If you and she can come up with and present a kindly unified front, then you, not they, will determine "what my future will look like" — as long as her folks don't send you Wile E. Coyote-ing through the nearest exterior wall.

2. To do something in an exaggeratedly obvious way, reminiscent of the animated effects drawn on Wile E. Coyote.
   • 2014 September 22, Lauren Bans, “How to be polite to women without annoying them”, in CNN‎^[5], archived from the original on 2023-03-20:

     And finally, don't use this as an opportunity to steal a glimpse at our butts, as one former co-worker used to do very indiscreetly. She might not witness your eyeballs Wile E. Coyote-ing out of your head, but everyone behind her will.