kangaroo court (kang-guh-ROO kort) noun

   A mock court set up with disregard to proper procedure to deliver
   a judgment arrived at in advance.

[Origin unknown.]

   "`This is a kangaroo court,' the Australian coach, Don Talbot, told
   Vlaskov in a heated argument on the pool deck. `Do you know what that is?
   It's a farce.'"
   Thorpe Wins; U.S. Relay Is Disqualified, The New York Times, Jul 26, 2001.

This week's theme: animal words.

............................................................................
To resist the frigidity of old age one must combine the body, the mind and
the heart - and to keep them in parallel vigor one must exercise, study and
love. -Karl Viktor von Bonstetten, author (1745-1832)

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/kangaroo_court.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/kangaroo_court.ram