1. a chain reaction similar to the falling of a row of dominoes, with each action (or fall) causing the next action (or fall).
2. a theory embraced by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1970s stating that allowing South Vietnam to fall to Communism would result in all of southeast Asia including even The Phillipines becoming Communist controlled. In this case, just two dominoes fell, Laos and Cambodia.
1. According to the domino theory, if I suddenly stop while driving in rush hour, the car behind me will slam into me, then the car behind it will slam into it, then ...
2. According to the domino theory, preventing South Vietnam from being over-run by North Vietman would have prevented the Khmer Rouge from taking Cambodia, which would have prevented the movie Killing Fields.
A Shackteau is a humble, weather-beaten, structurally questionable shelter located in a spectacular or highly coveted place—Wales, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Crested Butte, coastal Maine, the Alps—where the building itself may be worth almost nothing, but the dirt, view, access, and mythology make it absurdly valuable.
In use:
Shackteâu - We thought it was an abandoned shed until the realtor called it a rare alpine Shackteâu with unobstructed views and listed it for $2 million.