Heath Robinson ingeniously or ridiculously over-complicated in design or construction; the term comes from the name of the English cartoonist and illustrator William Heath Robinson (1872–1944), who lampooned the machine age by inventing absurdly complicated ‘Heath Robinson contraptions’ to perform elementary or ridiculous actions.

Robinson, (William) Heath (1872–1944) English cartoonist and illustrator. He is best-known for his drawings of ‘Heath Robinson contraptions’, absurdly complicated machines for performing simple, everyday tasks.