fringe
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fringe benefit
A non-monetary perk, incentive, or benefit for working a job that is given in addition to one's normal wage or salary. One of the fringe benefits of working here is getting free lunch in the cafeteria.
lunatic fringe
The most extreme members or portion of a larger group of people. The group has widely been dismissed as the lunatic fringe of the religion, taking its most fundamentalist aspects and warping them into a cult-like ideology based on prejudice and hate. They're part of some lunatic fringe who believe that eating anything that dwells or grows above ground pollutes the body with toxins.
on the fringe
1. At or in the periphery of something or some place. Our offices are on the fringe of the city, where rent isn't quite so high. There are still some tribes on the fringe of the forest that have never made contact with the outside world.
2. Outside of or not favored by the mainstream population; unconventional, radical, or extreme. He's a really smart guy, but some of his ideas are really on the fringe. I've just found that the most interesting art these days is found on the fringe.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
lunatic fringe
the more extreme members of a group. Most of the members of that religious sect are quite reasonable, but Lisa belongs to the lunatic fringe. Many people try to avoid eating a lot of fat, but Mary is part of the lunatic fringe and will eat anything.
on the fringe
1. Lit. at the outer boundary or edge of something. He doesn't live in the city, just on the fringe.
2. Fig. at the extremes of something, typically political thought. He is way out. His political ideas are really on the fringe.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
the ˌlunatic ˈfringe
(disapproving) members of an organization or group who are more extreme than the others; extreme groups: It’s the lunatic fringe of the Animal Liberation Front which smashes the windows of butchers’ shops, not ordinary members like us.The word lunatic means crazy. It comes from the Latin word luna, meaning ‘moon’, because people believed that the changes in the moon caused temporary madness.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
lunatic fringe, the
A minority group who have what others consider very extreme beliefs. The term was first used (and perhaps coined) by Theodore Roosevelt in History as Literature (1913): “There is apt to be a lunatic fringe among the votaries of any forward movement.” At first used mainly for political extremists, the expression was later extended to other venues, as by Diana Ramsay in Deadly Discretion (1973): “Antique shops were magnets for the lunatic fringe.”
See also: lunatic
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer