flog

en-verb

flog (third-person singular simple present flogs, present participle flogging, simple past and past participle flogged)

flogs (present singular third-person)
flogging (participle present)
flogged (participle past)
flogged (past)

From Middle English *floggen (suggested by flogge (“hammer, sledge”), from Old English *floggian, a stem variant of Proto-Germanic *flukkōną (“to beat”), itself a secondary zero-grade iterative with unetymological -u-, derived from *flōkaną.
The original zero-grade iterative *flakkōną had been misinterpreted as an o-grade. See flack (“to beat”), also as a dialectal noun "a blow, slap". Cognate with Scots flog (“a blow, stripe, flogging”, noun), Scots flog (“thin strip of wood”), Norwegian flak (“a piece torn off, strip”).
Alternatively, a back-formation of flogger, from Low German flogger (“a flail”).

cog

(theater) To beat away charcoal dust etc. using a flogger.


black box

black boxes (plural)
blackbox (alternative)

black box
black box#History
flight recorder#Terminology
gray-box testing
white box (software engineering)

* Since circa 1945 in both main senses (that is, event recorders and objects with unknown innards), which are historically related to each other; for details, see black box § History and flight recorder § Terminology.
* (type of theater): Such theaters are often painted black.

(drama) A type of theater characterized by a lack of decoration or complex mechanisms.


stock character

en-noun

stock character (plural stock characters)

(writing, theater, film) Any fictional character drawn from some stereotype who is instantly recognizable.

ամպլուա

fictional character based on a recognizable stereotype


hamartia

hamartia (usually uncountable, plural hamartias)

/ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə/

/ˌhɑːˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə/

From Ancient Greek ἁμαρτία (hamartía, “tragic failure, sinful nature”), from the verb ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō, “to miss the mark”).

der

Creon's main hamartia was his excessive pride.

Understanding hamartia as “ignorance of the injurious act,” Lacan distinguishes Greek tragedy from the Renaissance version on the basis that the latter supplants hamartia with the hero's privileged knowledge.

2006, David Ratmoko, On Spectrality: Fantasies of Redemption in the Western Canon, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 71:

The plot and the tragic figure at its center, destroyed through an act of hamartia, should be tailored to the production of pity and fear. Oedipus is not so much a person as he is a hamartia delivery system, a moving, empty center within the motions of the play, who through his vulnerability to hamartia and its disastrous consequences reveals the pitiable and the fearful to the audience.

2008, Daniel Greenspan, The Passion of Infinity: Kierkegaard, Aristotle and the Rebirth of Tragedy, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 81:

But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.

2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years […] ”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):

(Greek drama) The tragic flaw of the protagonist in a literary tragedy.


sarky

en-adj

sarky (comparative sarkier, superlative sarkiest)

sarkier (comparative)
sarkiest (superlative)

Full of Coxon's trademark sarky lyricism, this 14-track concept album celebrates and laments the bittersweet nature of love, avoiding being dull or mawkish by being so gorgeous and satisfyingly coherent.

2006 February 19, Nosheen Iqbal, “Graham Coxon, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds”, in The Observer:

It would seem that during his Bournemouth team’s recent 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United, referee Jon Moss gave the hosts some “soft fouls” and made “little sarky comments” that “didn’t help”.

2020 February 12, Scott Murray, “Dan Gosling, Jon Moss and breath-freshening hard candy”, in The Guardian:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Sarcastic.


Columbia

From Columbus + -ia, the Latinized name of the European explorer, Christopher Columbus. Piecewise doublet of Colombia.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Tuolumne County, California.

Several places in the United States.
A town in Tolland County, Connecticut.

Several places in the United States.
A town in Herkimer County, New York.

Tuscarawas County
Tuscarawas County#English

An unincorporated community in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.

An unincorporated community in Fluvanna County, Virginia.


merde

Inherited from Middle French merde, from Old French merde, from Latin merda.


jog

Late Middle English, of uncertain origin. Originally with the meaning of "to shake up and down".
Perhaps an early alteration of English shog (“to jolt, shake; depart, go”), from Middle English shoggen, schoggen (“to shake up and down, jog”), from Middle Dutch schocken (“to jolt, bounce”) or Middle Low German schoggen, schocken (“to shog”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *skokkan (“to move, shake, tremble”). More at shock.
Alternatively from Middle English joggen, a variant of jaggen (“to pierce, prod, stir up, arouse”) (see jag).

der

This angle is somewhat more acute than that of the right and left walls of the Western box set; but unlike the walls of the box set, the Kabuki wall is never broken up by a jog or by a succession of jogs.

1974, Earle Ernst, The Kabuki Theatre, page 143:

(theater) A flat placed perpendicularly to break up a flat surface.


cliffhanger

cliffhangers (plural)
cliff hanger (alternative)
cliff-hanger (alternative)

From cliff + hanger, evoking the image of someone left hanging from a cliff, thereby having an uncertain fate.
The term "cliffhanger" is considered to have originated with the serialised version of Thomas Hardy's "A Pair of Blue Eyes", published in Tinsley's Magazine in the 1870s, in which the character Henry Knight is left hanging off of a cliff. It was inspired by a real life story from his wife Emma's childhood, when she had to rescue one of her school friends from a similar position.

Back in the early 80s, the hit series Dallas kept the nation guessing with its season-ending cliffhanger "Who Shot J.R.?"

2007 July 2, Hilary Hylton, “Filming Texas in a Good Light”, in Time, archived from the original on 2009-03-15:

(narratology) An ending or stopping point calculated to leave a story unresolved, in order to create suspense.

cliffhanger

(narratology) an ending or stopping point

This presidential election is such a cliffhanger. Will it be the rising star Dmitry "Obamovich" Medvedev? Or the veteran Gennady "McCainovich" Zyuganov?

February 28 2008, Timothy Garton Ash, “Russia has run rings round the west”, in Guardian, retrieved 2009-02-02:

(by extension) An outcome which is awaited with keen anticipation, especially one which is delayed for a period of time or which is not known until the last minute.


vaudeville

→ Armenian: վոդևիլ (vodewil)

→ Belarusian: вадэвіль (vadevilʹ)

→ Bulgarian: водевил (vodevil)

→ Catalan: vodevil

→ Danish: vaudeville

desctree

→ English: vaudeville
→ Tagalog: bodabil

→ Georgian: ვოდევილი (vodevili)

→ German: Vaudeville

→ Greek: βοντβίλ (vontvíl)

→ Hebrew: ווֹדְווִיל (vodevil)

→ Hindi: वडेविल (vaḍevil)

→ Japanese: ヴォードヴィル (vōdoviru)

→ Korean: 보더빌 (bodeobil)

→ Latvian: vodeviļa

→ Lithuanian: vodevilis

→ Macedonian: водвиль

→ Polish: wodewil

→ Portuguese: vaudeville

→ Romanian: vodevil

→ Russian: водеви́ль (vodevílʹ)

→ Serbo-Croatian: во̀двӣљ (vòdvīlj)

→ Spanish: vodevil

→ Swedish: vådevill

→ Ottoman Turkish: وودویل (vodvil)

Turkish: vodvil

→ Ukrainian: водеві́ль (vodevílʹ)

Unclear. Possibly a corruption of voix de ville (“voice of the city”), or vallée de Vire (“valley of the (river) Vire”).

À ses moments perdus, Fernand écrivait, avec ses camarades de bureau, un tiers ou un sixième de vaudeville .

1858, Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail, L'Héritage mystérieux:

"In his idle moments Fernand would write a scene or two of vaudeville with his colleagues from the office."


caption

Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“I take, I seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).

cog

(theater, performance production) By analogy, text in a similar system used in a performance venue for transcription of a live event.

(cinematography, television) A piece of text appearing on screen as a subtitle or other part of a film or broadcast, describing dialogue (and sometimes other sound) for viewers who cannot hear.

надписи

piece of text appearing on screen as part of a film or broadcast

sous-titrage pour sourds et malentendants


John Bull

In spite of these promptings to reflection, ignorance of his neighbours is the character of the typical John Bull. His is a domineering nature, steady in fight, imperious to command, but neither curious nor quick about the life of others.

1887, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Foreigner At Home”, in Memories and Portraits, New York: Charles Scribner, page 3:

Thatched cottages, manors, old mills, venerable churches and wooded lanes personify a John Bull fancy, neatly tucked into gentle hill folds.

2005, David W. Moore, The Other British Isles, →ISBN, page 183:

Next door to all that noble intention stood a bluff old John Bull of a hotel, Warners, now a pub and backpackers, and next to that, until 1993, a cinema, the last of several that had sprung up around the Square as temples of modernity.

2015, Fiona Farrell, The Villa at the Edge of the Empire, →ISBN, page 52:

(by extension) Something or someone that is stereotypically English.


Johnny Reb

Johnny Rebs (plural)
Johnnie Reb (alternative)

From the sense of Johnny as a placeholder name for any man and reb, US slang for a Confederate citizen or soldier.

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America

(historical, colloquial) Synonym of Confederate: a citizen of the Confederate States of America, particularly a Confederate soldier.


Johnny Reb

When Lincoln heard the news about the fall,
All the folks thought he'd throw a great vict'ry ball,
But he asked the band to play the song "Dixie"
For you, Johnny Reb, and all that you believe.

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America#English

(figurative) Synonym of Confederate States of America.


opener

オープナー

baseball pitcher who starts the game, but is planned to have a short outing

(theater) The first act in a variety show or concert.


opera house

A theatre, or similar building, primarily used for staging opera.


supernumerary

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

refn

From Joseph C. Hughes (1897 September) “Supernumerary Finger Growing from First Metacarpal Bone”, in James Moores Ball, editor, Tri-State Medical Journal and Practitioner, volume IV, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: [s.n.] 3509 Franklin Avenue, →OCLC, figure 2, page 436.

bor

[A] minor actor or supernumerary often has a better opportunity to watch great actors than the great actors themselves.

1983, H[endrik] B[rugt] G[erhard] Casimir, “Introduction”, in Haphazard Reality: Half a Century of Science (A Sloan Foundation Book), New York, N.Y.: Harper and Row, →ISBN; republished Amsterdam: Amsterdam Academic Archive, Amsterdam University Press, 2010, →ISBN, page 1:

Though little is known about Noble Luke Usher before his first recorded performance in Washington, D.C., in 1800, it is certain that he made the rounds of the eastern theatres as a supernumerary before as well as after that year.

2009, West T. Hill, Jr., “The First Western Circuit”, in The Theatre in Early Kentucky 1790–1820, paperback edition, Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 72:

(film, theater) An extra or walk-on, often non-speaking, in a film or play; a spear carrier.


gracioso

From Spanish gracioso. Doublet of gracious and grazioso.

I ſhall never ceaſe to wonder that the Engliſh, who are certainly a ſenſible and diſcerning people ſhould be ſo much infatuated, as to applaud and careſs with the moſt extravagant approbation, not to ſay adoration and regard, one or two gracioſo's, who, I will be bold to ſay, would ſcarce be able to earn their bread by their talents, on any other theatre under the ſun.

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, chapter LV, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume II, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 137–138:

(theater) A clown or jester in early-modern Spanish comedy.


gracioso

es-noun

gracioso m or f by sense (plural graciosos)

Borrowed from Latin grātiōsus, from grātia. Compare English gracious.

(historical, theater) gracioso (bawdy clown or jester in 16th-century Spanish comedy)


slapstick

en-noun

slapstick (countable and uncountable, plural slapsticks)

slapsticks (plural)
slap-stick (alternative)

From slap + stick, calque of Italian batacchio. The pair of sticks was used by the comic character Harlequin in the commedia dell'arte.

(uncountable, comedy) A style of humor focusing on physical comedy, such as slipping on a banana peel, and with foolish characters who get into humiliating situations.


slapstick

slapstick (nominative singular)
slapsticki (nominative plural)
slapsticku (genitive singular)
slapsticków (genitive plural)
slapstickowi (dative singular)
slapstickom (dative plural)
slapstick (accusative singular)
slapsticki (accusative plural)
slapstickiem (instrumental singular)
slapstickami (instrumental plural)
slapsticku (locative singular)
slapstickach (locative plural)
slapsticku (singular vocative)
slapsticki (plural vocative)

Unadapted borrowing from English slapstick.


pancake

en-noun

pancake (countable and uncountable, plural pancakes)

pancakes (plural)
pan cake (alternative)

→ Cantonese: 班戟 (baan¹ gik¹)

→ Mandarin: 班戟 (bānjǐ)

→ Cebuano: pankeyk

→ French: pancake

→ German: Pancake

desc

→ Hijazi Arabic: بانكيك (bānkēk, pānkēk)

→⇒ Irish: pancóg

→ Japanese: パンケーキ (pankēki)

→⇒ Khmer: នំផេនខេក (num pheenkheek)

→ Korean: 팬케이크 (paenkeikeu)

→ Nauruan: epankeik

→ Portuguese: panqueca, (dated) panqueque, (dated) pancake

→ Russian: панкейк (pankejk)

→ Spanish: (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay) panqueque, (Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico) pancake, (Venezuela) panqueca

→ Thai: แพนเค้ก (pɛɛn-kéek)

→ Turkish: pankek

→ Azerbaijani: pankek

→ Yoruba: pan̄kéèkì

Inherited from Middle English pancake, panne cake, pankake, ponkake, equivalent to pan + cake.
Perhaps adapted from Middle Low German pankôke, pannekôke, from Old Saxon *pannakōko (suggested by derivatives Old Saxon pannakōkilo and pannakōkilīn), where the compound is much older; compare Old High German phankuohho (8th century), whence Middle High German phankuoche, German Pfannkuchen (“pancake”); further
Saterland Frisian Ponkouke, Ponkuuke (“pancake”), West Frisian pankoek (“pancake”), Dutch pannenkoek (“pancake”), German Low German Pannkook (“pancake”).
The juggling sense is by analogy with a pancake being tossed in a pan.

And us, me wearing pancake with my eyebrows recently plucked archly, done by Little Amber, the beauty-school student quean, in Bryant Park.

1984 April 14, Freddie Greenfield, “Spoiling the View”, in Gay Community News, page 19:

(uncountable, theater) A kind of makeup, consisting of a thick layer of a compressed powder.


pancake

Unadapted borrowing from English pancake.


aktoro

From Esperanto aktoro (“actor”), English actor, French acteur, Italian attore, Spanish actor, Russian актёр (aktjór), from Latin āctor.

(theater, film) actor; actress (male or female)


apuntar

es-verb

apuntar (first-person singular present apunto, first-person singular preterite apunté, past participle apuntado)

apunto (first-person present singular)
apunté (first-person preterite singular)
apuntado (participle past)
apuntar (infinitive)
apuntando (gerund)
apuntado (masculine participle past singular)
apuntada (feminine participle past singular)
apuntados (masculine participle past plural)
apuntadas (feminine participle past plural)
apunto (first-person indicative present singular)
apuntas (indicative informal present second-person singular)
apuntás (indicative informal present second-person singular vos-form)
apunta (indicative present singular third-person)
apuntamos (first-person indicative plural present)
apuntáis (indicative plural present second-person)
apuntan (indicative plural present third-person)
apuntaba (first-person imperfect indicative singular)
apuntabas (imperfect indicative second-person singular)
apuntaba (imperfect indicative singular third-person)
apuntábamos (first-person imperfect indicative plural)
apuntabais (imperfect indicative plural second-person)
apuntaban (imperfect indicative plural third-person)
apunté (first-person indicative preterite singular)
apuntaste (indicative preterite second-person singular)
apuntó (indicative preterite singular third-person)
apuntamos (first-person indicative plural preterite)
apuntasteis (indicative plural preterite second-person)
apuntaron (indicative plural preterite third-person)
apuntaré (first-person future indicative singular)
apuntarás (future indicative second-person singular)
apuntará (future indicative singular third-person)
apuntaremos (first-person future indicative plural)
apuntaréis (future indicative plural second-person)
apuntarán (future indicative plural third-person)
apuntaría (conditional first-person indicative singular)
apuntarías (conditional indicative second-person singular)
apuntaría (conditional indicative singular third-person)
apuntaríamos (conditional first-person indicative plural)
apuntaríais (conditional indicative plural second-person)
apuntarían (conditional indicative plural third-person)
apunte (first-person present singular subjunctive)
apuntes (informal present second-person singular subjunctive)
apuntés (informal present second-person singular subjunctive vos-form)
apunte (present singular subjunctive third-person)
apuntemos (first-person plural present subjunctive)
apuntéis (plural present second-person subjunctive)
apunten (plural present subjunctive third-person)
apuntara (first-person imperfect singular subjunctive)
apuntaras (imperfect second-person singular subjunctive)
apuntara (imperfect singular subjunctive third-person)
apuntáramos (first-person imperfect plural subjunctive)
apuntarais (imperfect plural second-person subjunctive)
apuntaran (imperfect plural subjunctive third-person)
apuntase (first-person imperfect imperfect-se singular subjunctive)
apuntases (imperfect imperfect-se second-person singular subjunctive)
apuntase (imperfect imperfect-se singular subjunctive third-person)
apuntásemos (first-person imperfect imperfect-se plural subjunctive)
apuntaseis (imperfect imperfect-se plural second-person subjunctive)
apuntasen (imperfect imperfect-se plural subjunctive third-person)
apuntare (first-person future singular subjunctive)
apuntares (future second-person singular subjunctive)
apuntare (future singular subjunctive third-person)
apuntáremos (first-person future plural subjunctive)
apuntareis (future plural second-person subjunctive)
apuntaren (future plural subjunctive third-person)
apunta (imperative informal second-person singular)
apuntá (imperative informal second-person singular vos-form)
apunte (formal imperative second-person-semantically singular third-person)
apunte (imperative singular third-person)
apuntemos (first-person imperative plural)
apuntad (imperative plural second-person)
apunten (formal imperative plural second-person-semantically third-person)
apunten (imperative plural third-person)
apuntes (imperative negative second-person singular)
apunte (formal imperative negative second-person-semantically singular third-person)
apunte (imperative negative singular third-person)
apuntemos (first-person imperative negative plural)
apuntéis (imperative negative plural second-person)
apunten (formal imperative negative plural second-person-semantically third-person)
apunten (imperative negative plural third-person)
apuntarme (combined-form dative infinitive object-first-person object-singular)
apuntarte (combined-form dative infinitive object-second-person object-singular)
apuntarle (combined-form dative infinitive object-singular object-third-person)
apuntarse (combined-form dative infinitive object-singular object-third-person)
apuntarnos (combined-form dative infinitive object-first-person object-plural)
apuntaros (combined-form dative infinitive object-plural object-second-person)
apuntarles (combined-form dative infinitive object-plural object-third-person)
apuntarse (combined-form dative infinitive object-plural object-third-person)
apuntarme (accusative combined-form infinitive object-first-person object-singular)
apuntarte (accusative combined-form infinitive object-second-person object-singular)
apuntarlo (accusative combined-form infinitive object-singular object-third-person)
apuntarla (accusative combined-form infinitive object-singular object-third-person)
apuntarse (accusative combined-form infinitive object-singular object-third-person)
apuntarnos (accusative combined-form infinitive object-first-person object-plural)
apuntaros (accusative combined-form infinitive object-plural object-second-person)
apuntarlos (accusative combined-form infinitive object-plural object-third-person)
apuntarlas (accusative combined-form infinitive object-plural object-third-person)
apuntarse (accusative combined-form infinitive object-plural object-third-person)
apuntándome (combined-form dative gerund object-first-person object-singular)
apuntándote (combined-form dative gerund object-second-person object-singular)
apuntándole (combined-form dative gerund object-singular object-third-person)
apuntándose (combined-form dative gerund object-singular object-third-person)
apuntándonos (combined-form dative gerund object-first-person object-plural)
apuntándoos (combined-form dative gerund object-plural object-second-person)
apuntándoles (combined-form dative gerund object-plural object-third-person)
apuntándose (combined-form dative gerund object-plural object-third-person)
apuntándome (accusative combined-form gerund object-first-person object-singular)
apuntándote (accusative combined-form gerund object-second-person object-singular)
apuntándolo (accusative combined-form gerund object-singular object-third-person)
apuntándola (accusative combined-form gerund object-singular object-third-person)
apuntándose (accusative combined-form gerund object-singular object-third-person)
apuntándonos (accusative combined-form gerund object-first-person object-plural)
apuntándoos (accusative combined-form gerund object-plural object-second-person)
apuntándolos (accusative combined-form gerund object-plural object-third-person)
apuntándolas (accusative combined-form gerund object-plural object-third-person)
apuntándose (accusative combined-form gerund object-plural object-third-person)
apúntame (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-singular second-person singular with-tú)
apúntate (combined-form dative imperative informal object-second-person object-singular second-person singular with-tú)
apúntale (combined-form dative imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apúntanos (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-plural second-person singular with-tú)
apúntales (combined-form dative imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apúntame (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-singular second-person singular with-tú)
apúntate (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-second-person object-singular second-person singular with-tú)
apúntalo (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apúntala (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apúntanos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-plural second-person singular with-tú)
apúntalos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apúntalas (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-tú)
apuntame (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-singular second-person singular with-vos)
apuntate (combined-form dative imperative informal object-second-person object-singular second-person singular with-vos)
apuntale (combined-form dative imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apuntanos (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-plural second-person singular with-vos)
apuntales (combined-form dative imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apuntame (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-singular second-person singular with-vos)
apuntate (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-second-person object-singular second-person singular with-vos)
apuntalo (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apuntala (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apuntanos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-plural second-person singular with-vos)
apuntalos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apuntalas (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person second-person singular with-vos)
apúnteme (combined-form dative formal imperative object-first-person object-singular second-person singular)
apúntele (combined-form dative formal imperative object-singular object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntese (combined-form dative formal imperative object-singular object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntenos (combined-form dative formal imperative object-first-person object-plural second-person singular)
apúnteles (combined-form dative formal imperative object-plural object-third-person second-person singular)
apúnteme (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-first-person object-singular second-person singular)
apúntelo (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-singular object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntela (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-singular object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntese (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-singular object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntenos (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-first-person object-plural second-person singular)
apúntelos (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-plural object-third-person second-person singular)
apúntelas (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-plural object-third-person second-person singular)
apuntémoste (combined-form dative first-person imperative object-second-person object-singular plural)
apuntémosle (combined-form dative first-person imperative object-singular object-third-person plural)
apuntémonos (combined-form dative first-person imperative object-first-person object-plural plural)
apuntémoos (combined-form dative first-person imperative object-plural object-second-person plural)
apuntémosles (combined-form dative first-person imperative object-plural object-third-person plural)
apuntémoste (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-second-person object-singular plural)
apuntémoslo (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-singular object-third-person plural)
apuntémosla (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-singular object-third-person plural)
apuntémonos (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-first-person object-plural plural)
apuntémoos (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-plural object-second-person plural)
apuntémoslos (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-plural object-third-person plural)
apuntémoslas (accusative combined-form first-person imperative object-plural object-third-person plural)
apuntadme (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-singular plural second-person)
apuntadle (combined-form dative imperative informal object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apuntadnos (combined-form dative imperative informal object-first-person object-plural plural second-person)
apuntaos (combined-form dative imperative informal object-plural object-second-person plural second-person)
apuntadles (combined-form dative imperative informal object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apuntadme (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-singular plural second-person)
apuntadlo (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apuntadla (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apuntadnos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-first-person object-plural plural second-person)
apuntaos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-second-person plural second-person)
apuntadlos (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apuntadlas (accusative combined-form imperative informal object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntenme (combined-form dative formal imperative object-first-person object-singular plural second-person)
apúntenle (combined-form dative formal imperative object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntennos (combined-form dative formal imperative object-first-person object-plural plural second-person)
apúntenles (combined-form dative formal imperative object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntense (combined-form dative formal imperative object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntenme (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-first-person object-singular plural second-person)
apúntenlo (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntenla (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-singular object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntennos (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-first-person object-plural plural second-person)
apúntenlos (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntenlas (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)
apúntense (accusative combined-form formal imperative object-plural object-third-person plural second-person)

From a- + punto + -ar or a- + punta + -ar. Compare English appoint.

(transitive, theater) to prompt, to cue, to whisper the answer


Merry Andrew

Merry Andrews (plural)
merry andrew (alternative)
merry-andrew (alternative)
merryandrew (alternative)

Originally associated with a specific act at Bartholomew Fair; later said to have come from the name of Andrew Boorde.

Instead, therefore, of answering my landlady, the puppet-show man ran out to punish his Merry-Andrew [...]

1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 438:

The games of the circus—the wild-beast fight and the gladiators, the rope-dancers, the merry-andrews, and the posture-masters,—were more to their taste than clever intrigue and brilliant dialogue.

1873, William Lucas Collins, chapter III, in Plautus and Terence, page 31:

One of them, the eldest, was a sort of merry andrew and was not above dressing the part with a weird cap of jackal's skin with many hanging tails and tassels.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 155:

(idiomatic) A person who clowns publicly; a buffoon; an entertainer's assistant.


wiseacre

From Middle Dutch wijssegger (“soothsayer”), from Old High German wīzzago, wīzago (“wise man, prophet, soothsayer”), from Proto-West Germanic *wītagō (“wise one; prophet”). Cognate with Old English wītga (“wise man, prophet”). See also German Weissager (“soothsayer, seer”).

der

That other class of wiseacres who twist prophecy in such a manner as to make it promise the destruction and desolation of the same city, use judgement just as bad, since the city is in a very flourishing condition now, unhappily for them.

1869, Mark Twain, the Innocents Abroad, Random House, published 2003, pages 298–299:

One who feigns knowledge or cleverness; one who is wisecracking; an insolent upstart.


smart aleck

smart alecks (plural)
smart alec (alternative)

Aleck is a nickname for the male given name Alexander. The phrase "smart aleck" is possibly derived from the name of Aleck Hoag, a 19th-century American con man and thief.

One who is given to obnoxious or insolent humor.


witty

en-adj

witty (comparative wittier, superlative wittiest)

wittier (comparative)
wittiest (superlative)

From Middle English witty, witti, from Old English wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever, wise”), from Proto-West Germanic *witīg, *witag, from Proto-Germanic *witagaz, *wītagaz (“knowing, wise, clever”), equivalent to wit + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German wittich, gewittich (“knowing, clever, wise, understanding”), German witzig (“funny, witty”), Norwegian Bokmål vettig, Norwegian Nynorsk vittig (“witty”).

His frequent quips mark him as particularly witty.


jocose

jocose (comparative more jocose, superlative most jocose)

more jocose (comparative)
most jocose (superlative)

From Latin iocōsus (“humorous”), from iocus (“jest, joke”).

Adde to this diſsipated and diſtracted ſtate of Miniſters, their private diſtreſſes and poverties, together with the publick neglect and indifferency of people toward them; who can wonder if they look pitifully one on another, which no jocoſe or juvenile drolings can relieve?

1659, John Gauden, chapter XXXI, in Ίερα Δακρυα [Hiera dakrya]. Ecclesiae Anglicanae Suspiria. The Tears, Sighs, Complaints, and Prayers of the Church of England: […], London: Printed by J[ohn] G[rismond] for R[ichard] Royston, […], →OCLC, book II (Searching the Causes and Occasions of the Church of England’s Decayes), page 251:

Jocose flesh-eaters take a malicious delight in pointing out and enumerating to Vegetarians the many animal substances now in common use, and in taunting them with inconsistency in using them.

1886, Henry S. Salt, “VII: On Certain Fallacies”, in A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays, page 80:

The American people, / With grins jocose, / Always survive the fatal dose.

1941, Ogden Nash, “Look What You Did, Christopher!”, in The Face Is Familiar, Garden City Publishing Company, page 223:


big top

He had been a big top performer in his youth, but in a twist of fate he had run away to become an investment banker.

(by extension) The circus; the circus lifestyle.


probe

For verb: borrowed from Latin probare (“to test, examine, prove”), from probus (“good”). Doublet of prove.
For noun: borrowed from Late Latin proba (“a proof”), from probare (“to test, examine, prove”); Doublet of proof. Compare Spanish tienta (“a surgeon's probe”), from tentar (“try, test”); see tempt.

сонда

any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc

You know, XR178.9, we haven't done any anal probes in a while.

2004 August 2, Bayard Russell, nonemorecomic:

You listen here! We don't do anal probes like other aliens, but I'm about to make an exception!

2009 September 14, Ryan Hudson, “Can I Abduct You?”, in ChannelATE:

(surgery) Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc.

(comedy, fiction) An anal probe, a fictional instrument commonly used by aliens on abducted humans.


witticism

From witty + -icism; coined in the 1670s by John Dryden, by analogy to criticism.

"Take any shape but that!" is what I always feel tempted to exclaim when dulness attempts a joke; striving to pervert some poor innocent and ill-used word from its lawful meaning till it ceases to have any at all—worrying some unfortunate idea till, like the hunted hare, it is worried to death—dealing in witticisms whose edge has long since been worn off by constant use; and truly to the many, witticisms not only require to be explained, like riddles, but are also like new shoes, which people require to wear many times before they get accustomed to them.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 151:

Shock of the witticism is a powerful one; while mere fun will have no power over them if it jar on their moral taste.

1883, George Eliot, chapter 4, in The Essays of George Eliot:

While the occasional wry witticism seeps through, overall Shipler is painfully conscientious about trying to offer both sides of any debate.

2015, Hans Rollman, “Freedom of Speech: It’s Complicated”, in PopMatters:

a witty remark; a bon mot; an epigram; a zinger.


coxcomb

coxcombs (plural)
cockscomb (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-coxcomb.wav

(historical) The cap of a court jester, adorned with a red stripe.


upstage

From up- + stage. The figurative uses “haughty” and “to draw attention away” derive from actors moving to a higher and thus more visible position on a sloped stage.

(theater) The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera.


upstage

en-verb

upstage (third-person singular simple present upstages, present participle upstaging, simple past and past participle upstaged)

upstages (present singular third-person)
upstaging (participle present)
upstaged (participle past)
upstaged (past)

(transitive, theater) To force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage.


manifesto

→ Turkish: manifesto

(theater) playbill, programme/program, program


villainy

en-noun

villainy (countable and uncountable, plural villainies)

From Middle English vileinie, vileynye, from Anglo-Norman vilenie, from Old French vilanie.

Mos Eisley spaceport- you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

1977, Star Wars, spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness):

(uncountable) Evil or wicked character or behaviour.

(uncountable, obsolete) Ill-treatment, indignity, degrading or shameful treatment of someone.

(uncountable, obsolete) The state of being a villein or serf, and by extension servitude or low estate in life.

(uncountable, obsolete) Boorishness, rudeness, bad cultivation or manners.


Monty Python

A former British comedy troupe known for surreal and absurd comedy.


soliloquy

soliloquy (countable and uncountable, plural soliloquies)

Augustine of Hippo
Hamlet
Soliloquiorum libri duo
To be, or not to be
William Shakespeare

1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“I speak”).

Coordinate term: aside

At the end of the second act the main villain gave a soliloquy detailing his plans to attack the protagonist.

Yet if I were to say […] that Hamlet's soliloquy had been much over-rated, it would not be said, on this account, that I was unable to appreciate Shakespeare.

1901, Edmund Selous, Bird Watching, J.M. Dent & Co, London, Chapter XII: Watching Blackbirds, Nightingales, Sand-martins, etc., page 315:

(drama) The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.


parte

Borrowed from Spanish parte. Doublet of part.

(theater, film) role; stint; part (in a theatrical play, drama, or film shoot)


theater

theater (countable and uncountable, plural theaters)

/ˈt̪eːʈə(ɾ)/

(US, Canada, Southern American English) -iːtə(ɹ)

Inherited from Middle English theater, theatre, from Old French theatre, from Latin theatrum, from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”), from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see", "to watch", "to observe”). Doublet of tiatr.

der

(countable) A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on.

His grandfather was in the Pacific theater during the war.

Percy had been too big for the town since he got back from the war. He served in the Pacific theater, behind the lines keeping up the supply chain.

2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 69:

A region where a particular action takes place; a specific field of action, usually with reference to war.

This man is about to die, get him into theater at once!

(medicine) An operating theatre or locale for human experimentation.

I worked in theater for twenty-five years.

Drama or performance as a profession or art form.

مَسْرَح

drama or performance as a profession or artform


theater

nl-noun

theater n (plural theaters, diminutive theatertje n)

theaters (plural)
theatertje (diminutive neuter)

Afrikaans: teater

→ Caribbean Javanese: téater

→ Indonesian: teater

Borrowed from Middle French theatre, from Old French theatre, from Latin theatrum, from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”), from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see", "to watch", "to observe”).

theater (US), theatre (Commonwealth): either drama, the art form, or a drama theater (building)


theater

English: theater, theatre

Scots: theatre

/ˌtɛːˈaːtər/

From Old French theatre, from Latin theatrum, from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron).

theatre (alternative)
teatre (alternative)
theatyr (alternative)
theatere (alternative)

A theatre open to the sky; an amphitheatre.


conscience

en-noun

conscience (countable and uncountable, plural consciences)

From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

der

(chiefly fiction, narratology) A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person, a being or merely a voice that gives moral lessons and advices.


sarcastic

en-adj

sarcastic (comparative more sarcastic, superlative most sarcastic)

more sarcastic (comparative)
most sarcastic (superlative)
sarcastick (alternative)

a sarcastic quip

the teacher's sarcastic tone

The unhappy Jew eyed their countenances and that of Front-de-Bœuf, in hope of discovering some symptoms of relenting; but that of the Baron exhibited the same cold, half-sullen, half-sarcastic smile which had been the prelude to his cruelty; […]

1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:

The sarcastic bitterness of his conversation disgusted those who were more inclined to accuse his licentiousness than their own degeneracy, and who were unable to conceive the strength of those emotions which are concealed by the jests of the wretched, and by the follies of the wise.

1850, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Machiavelli:

He smiled to himself, and threw a glance of fine sarcastic meaning towards Hepzibah.

1851 April 9, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields:

In men’s clubs such celebrations were, though expiring, less uncommon; but either the natural shyness of the softer sex, or a sarcastic attitude on the part of male relatives, had denuded such women’s clubs as remained (if any other did) or this their glory and consummation.

1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter II, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:

Her eyes slanted a little... and were sometimes full of fiery determination and sometimes dull and opaque. Her expression was never altogether amiable; was often, indeed, distinctly sullen, or, when she was animated, sarcastic.

(of a person) Having the personality trait of expressing sarcasm.


poetic justice

/pəʊˌɛtɪk ˈd͡ʒʌstɪs/

From poetic + justice, a variant of poetical justice, coined by the English literary critic Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 1713) in the work The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin’d (1678): see the quotation.

coinage

For though historical Juſtice might reſt there; yet poetical Juſtice could not be ſo content. It vvould require that the ſatisfaction be compleat and full, e're the Malefactor goes off the Stage, and nothing left to God Almighty, and another VVorld.

[1678, Thomas Rymer, “The Tragedy of Rollo Duke of Normandy”, in The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin‘d […], London: […] Richard Tonson […], →OCLC, page 26:

Poetic Juſtice, vvith her lifted ſcale; / VVhere in nice balance, truth vvith gold ſhe vveighs, / And ſolid pudding againſt empty praiſe.

1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the First”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 3, lines 40–42:

[T]he great object [of a comedy] is to cauſe a hearty laugh, in the accompliſhment of vvhich, the rules of the drama and the exerciſe of reaſon are often held in defiance; at the ſame time that poetic juſtice is carefully adminiſtered, and the vices of human nature are held up to merited execration.

1798 December, “Theatre. [Review of Laugh When You Can by Frederic Reynolds.]”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure: […], volume CIII, London: […] W. Bent, […], →OCLC, page 424:

[W]e cannot expect, nor does poetic justice allow, that a man shall act contary to his own nature through any force of will.

1894, Charles W. Hodell, “Shakespeare’s Opening Scenes as Striking the Key-note of Dramatic Action and Motive”, in Charlotte Porter, Helen A[rchibald] Clarke, editors, Poet Lore: A Magazine of Letters, volume VI, numbers 6–7, [Philadelphia, Pa.: Poet-Lore Co.]; New York, N.Y.: AMS Reprint Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 345:

Literary history, not to mention countless Grade B movies and television serials, teaches us that poetic justice is a standard formula for popular entertainment. […] Since very few people learn their morality from the theater, the enduring appeal of poetic justice must come from the fact that it satisfies needs that go much deeper than simple moral improvement. We can begin to get an insight into these needs by recognizing that poetic justice is a conscious or unconscious imitation of ideal justice.

1969, O[sborne] B[ennett] Hardison [Jr.], “Three Types of Renaissance Catharsis”, in Renaissance Drama, volume 2 (New Series), Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, section II, page 9; republished in Arthur F. Kinney, editor, Poetics and Praxis, Understanding and Imagination: The Collected Essays of O. B. Hardison Jr., Athens, Ga., London: University of Georgia Press, 1997, →ISBN, part 2 (Poetics), page 83:

poetical justice
poetical justice#English

(narratology) Synonym of poetical justice (“the idea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished”)


come-on

Deverbal of come on to. First use appears c. 1897, in the publications of Edward W. Townsend. See cite below.

When the public no longer rushed to the box-office to buy such synthetic exaltations of the spirit, pitchmen like Jerome K. Jerome and the aforesaid Kennedy got out their theopathic apparatus and had at the trade with elixirs in which actors, their faces chalked into a pallor exceeding Nicky Arnstein's, were programmed as A Stranger, A Wayfarer, or Manson and, by conducting themselves for the major portion of two hours like overly verbose and objectionable pallbearers, peculiarly persuaded the come-ons that they were replicas of Christ and that the rest of the cast, a bunch of low-lifes, were converted to the faith by them.

1975, George Jean Nathan, Charles Angoff, The Theatre Book of the Year, 1942-1943, page 82:

(theater, slang) A bad actor whose talents do not extend far beyond walking onto the stage.


superhero

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-superhero.wav

From super- + hero. First attested in 1917.

The power is out but you're watching TV? You must be a superhero.

Thanks for driving out here and towing me out of the ditch. You're a superhero!

Did you know your community has many invisible superheroes? Each day they perform hundreds of amazing feats that make the community a better place in which to live.

1991, Boys' Life, volume 81, number 1, page 42:

(by extension) A particularly renowned real-world hero, or one who has seemingly impossible abilities.


humorous

en-adj

humorous (comparative more humorous, superlative most humorous)

more humorous (comparative)
most humorous (superlative)

From Middle English humorous (compare Medieval Latin hūmorōsus), equivalent to humor + -ous.

The waiters were so humorous - one even did a backflip for us, when we asked him.

Full of humor or arousing laughter; funny.

snaaks

full of humor or arousing laughter; funny

[S]uch is now the Duke's condition
That he misconstrues all that you have done.
The Duke is humorous; what he is, indeed,
More suits you to conceive than I to speak of.

c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], lines 380-83:

It is a melancholy humor[…]that firſt put this humorous conceipt [translating resverie] of writing into my head.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Of the affection of fathers to their children”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 212:

I felt at this time as if I could have been fond of him too, if he would have let me; but I was timid from my childhood, and before long my dread of his displeasure […] conquered my humorous inclination to love one who was so handsome, so accomplished, so indulgent and devoted.

1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman:

(obsolete) Dependent on or caused by one's humour or mood; capricious, whimsical.


unity

en-noun

unity (countable and uncountable, plural unities)

Etymology tree
Middle English unite
English unity
From Middle English unite, from Anglo-Norman, Old French unité, from Latin ūnitās, from ūnus (“one”) + noun of state suffix -itās, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one, single”), hence distantly related to one and an. Displaced native Old English ānnes (literally “oneness”).

der

(drama) Any of the three classical rules of drama: unity of action (nothing should be admitted not directly relevant to the development of the plot), unity of place (the scenes should be set in the same place), and unity of time (all the events should be such as might happen within a single day).

eenheid

drama: any of the three classical rules of drama


Uncle Sam

/ˌʌŋkl̩ ˈsæm/

/ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/

From uncle + Sam (diminutive of the male name Samuel), probably based on the initialism U.S. of the United States. While folk etymology suggests that the term was named after Samuel Wilson (1766–1854), a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied the United States Army with canned meat during the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Oxford English Dictionary notes there is no evidence that this is the case.

compound

Uncle Sam needs brave men and women to enlist in the Army.

(colloquial, originally US) A personification of the United States federal government or (rare) citizens.

James Montgomery Flagg
Oxford English Dictionary
Samuel Wilson
United States Army
War of 1812

اَلْعَمّ سَام

personification of the United States federal government or citizens


Joe Bloggs

(Australia) A fictitious name used in legal documents for an unknown or anonymous male person.


tragedia

From Latin tragoedia, from Ancient Greek τρᾰγῳδῐ́ᾱ (trăgōidĭ́ā), from τρᾰ́γος (trắgos, “male goat”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).


AYBABTU

all your base are belong to us
all your base are belong to us#English

(Internet slang) Initialism of all your base are belong to us.


Joe Sixpack

(Internet slang) Somebody without particular expertise or interest in computers or the Internet; a nontechie.


script

en-noun

script (countable and uncountable, plural scripts)

From Middle English scrit, borrowed from Old French escrit, from Latin scriptum (something written), from scrībō (“write”).

(countable) The written document containing the dialogue and action for a drama; the text of a stage play, movie, or other performance. Especially, the final form used for the performance itself.

سِينَارْيُو

text of the dialogue and action for a drama

(computing) A file containing a list of user commands, allowing them to be invoked once to execute in sequence.

(linguistics) A system of writing adapted to a particular language or set of languages.


Marianne

a female given name, a combination of Marie and Anne


punch line

punch lines (plural)
punchline (alternative)
punch-line (alternative)

1910s, probably American. It was probably meant to be likened to a quick, sharp punch.

The final, the Munich-based liberal newspaper writes, was a “fitting punchline” to a great tournament.

2014 July 14, Philip Oltermann, “World Cup final press reaction: Germany’s win a ‘fitting punchline’”, in The Guardian:

(by extension) A final, concluding statement that an explanation has been leading up to; a conclusion.


proscenium

proscenium (plural prosceniums or proscenia)

prosceniums (plural)
proscenia (plural)
proscænium (alternative)

From Latin proscaenium (“in front of the scenery”), from Ancient Greek προσκήνιον (proskḗnion), from πρό (pró, “before”) + σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene building”).

uder

It looks like a film, a meticulous, detailed, visually balanced wide-screen Wes Anderson one. There’s no proscenium, no stage, no wings, no audience.

2023 June 15, Manohla Dargis, “‘Asteroid City’ Review: Our Town and Country”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(in a modern theater) The stage area between the curtain and the orchestra.

авансце́на

modern theatre: stage area between the curtain and the orchestra

(in an ancient theater) The stage area immediately in front of the scene building.

prosceni

ancient theatre: stage area immediately in front of the scene building

The front of the scene-building and of the parascenia came to be decorated with a row of columns, the proscenium (πρό, "before"+σκηνή).

1936, Roy C. Flickinger, The Greek Theater and Its Drama, 4th edition, page 58:

(in an ancient theater) The row of columns at the front the scene building, at first directly behind the circular orchestra but later upon a stage.

prosceni

ancient theatre: row of columns at the front the scene building


proscenium

la-noun

proscēnium n (genitive proscēniī or proscēnī); second declension

proscēnium (canonical neuter)
proscēniī (genitive)
proscēnī (genitive)
proscēnium (nominative singular)
proscēnia (nominative plural)
proscēniī (genitive singular)
proscēnī (genitive singular)
proscēniōrum (genitive plural)
proscēniō (dative singular)
proscēniīs (dative plural)
proscēnium (accusative singular)
proscēnia (accusative plural)
proscēniō (ablative singular)
proscēniīs (ablative plural)
proscēnium (singular vocative)
proscēnia (plural vocative)
proscaenium (alternative)

→ Catalan: prosceni (learned)

→ English: proscenium

French: proscénium

Italian: proscenio

From Ancient Greek προσκήνιον (proskḗnion), from πρό (pró, “before”) + σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene building”).


papel

→ Old Tupi: papera
Nheengatu: papera

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese papel, borrowed from Old Catalan paper, borrowed from Latin papȳrus, borrowed from Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros). Doublet of pavio and papiro.

etymon

Apesar de desempenhar vários papéis memoráveis, jamais recebeu um prêmio.

Despite having played many memorable roles, he/she never won an award.


perde

head

perde (definite accusative perdeyi, plural perdeler)

perdeyi (accusative definite)
perdeler (plural)
perde (nominative singular)
perdeler (nominative plural)
perdeyi (accusative definite singular)
perdeleri (accusative definite plural)
perdeye (dative singular)
perdelere (dative plural)
perdede (locative singular)
perdelerde (locative plural)
perdeden (ablative singular)
perdelerden (ablative plural)
perdenin (genitive singular)
perdelerin (genitive plural)

From Ottoman Turkish پرده (perde), from Persian پرده (parda).

(theater) act; a division of a theatrical performance.


Melpomene

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Μελπομένη (Melpoménē), from μέλπω (mélpō, “to sing”).


pars

la-noun

pars f (genitive partis); third declension

partis (genitive)
pars (nominative singular)
partēs (nominative plural)
partis (genitive singular)
partium (genitive plural)
partī (dative singular)
partibus (dative plural)
partem (accusative singular)
partim (accusative singular)
partēs (accusative plural)
partīs (accusative plural)
parte (ablative singular)
partī (ablative singular)
partibus (ablative plural)
pars (singular vocative)
partēs (plural vocative)

Aromanian: parti, parte

Catalan: part

Dalmatian: puart

Old French: part

French: part

→ English: part (partly; also from Old English)

i

from the Old French plural <i class="Latn mention" lang="fro">pars</i>

→ English: parse (from the Old French plural pars)

Friulian: part

Galician: parte

Irish: páirt

Italian: parte

Ladin: part, pert

Megleno-Romanian: parti

Occitan: part

Portuguese: parte

Romanian: parte

Romansch: part

Sardinian: parti, parte, palte

Sicilian: parti

Spanish: parte

Swedish: part

Venetan: part, parte

→ Dutch: part

→⇒ English: pars recta

→ Old English: part

English: part (partly; also from Old French)

→ Welsh: parth

From Proto-Italic *partis > parts > pars.
Probably from the same root as pār and portiō. This could be the Proto-Indo-European root *perH- or *per- (“sell, exchange”), which also gave the Ancient Greek πόρνη (pórnē, “prostitute”), and πέρνημι (pérnēmi, “sell”).
Others refer to (the perhaps identical) Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to pass through”), whence Latin porta, portus, parō, pariō, perīculum, experior, Ancient Greek πέρα (péra), πείρω (peírō), πόρος (póros), Proto-Germanic *faraną (“to go, to travel”) and *fērō (“danger”), whence English fare and fear, German fahren and Gefahr.
While keeping the separate root Proto-Indo-European *sperH-, that could also explain Latin parcus, parcō, Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós), English spare.
According to Michiel De Vaan's Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (2008), probably from the same root as pariō.

cog

(theater, in the plural) a part, character

a part, character
a part, function, office, duty


anagnorisis

en-noun

anagnorisis (countable and uncountable, plural anagnorises)

/ˌænəɡˈnɒrɪsɪs/

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀναγνώρισις (anagnṓrisis), from ἀναγνωρίζειν (anagnōrízein, “to recognise, discover”).

lbor

His heroines never have a true anagnorisis because the moral fault is never in themselves, only in outside conspirators.

The moment in the plot of a drama in which the hero makes a discovery that explains previously unexplained events or situations; a denouement.

anagnorisis

moment in the plot when a character makes a critical discovery


anagnorisis

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀναγνώρισις (anagnṓrisis).


anagnorisis

Det tredje ledet, anagnorisis, återuppståndelsen eller igenkännande som vid årsfesterna symboliseras av att trädet med sin nyutspruckna lövprakt bärs in som bevis på att livet ännu en gång återvänt, omtalas ofast enbart i mysteriespelen och ageras inte ut.

1986, Gunilla Domellöf, “Kapitel IV. Karin Boye och prosamodernismen”, in I oss är en mångfald levande, page 221:

The third element, anagnorisis, the resurrection, or recognition, which is symbolized at the annual festivals by the tree being carried in with its newly sprung foliage as evidence that life has once again returned, is most often mentioned only in the mystery plays and is not acted out.

I slutet får vi bevittna hur Fjalar, då han på höjden av sin självtillit får veta sanningen om sina barns öde, når fram till insikt om sin egen identitet. Detta sker genom yttre »anagnorisis», i Hjalmars berättelse, men främst genom inre: Avklädd sin rustning kommer Fjalar till insikt om sin maktlöshet. »Anagnorisis» kommer tematiskt och strukturellt också till uttryck som ett förhållande mellan att se och att inse.

2004, Kjell-Arne Brändström, et al., “Kung Fjalar. Kommentar av Kjell-Arne Brändström”, in Samlade skrifter XII:2, page 294:

In the end, we witness how Fjalar, when at the height of his self-confidence, learns the truth about his children's fate and comes to realize his own identity. This occurs through an outer "anagnorisis," in Hjalmar's narrative, but primarily through inner revelation: Stripped of his armor, Fjalar becomes aware of his powerlessness. "Anagnorisis" thematically and structurally also expresses a relationship between seeing and realizing.


coulisse

A side scene of the stage in a theater or the space between the side scenes.


coulisse

→ Catalan: colís

→ Dutch: coulisse

→ English: coulisse

→ German: Kulisse

→ Polish: kulisa

→ Crimean Tatar: kulisa

→ Hungarian: kulissza

→ Spanish: colisa

→ Swedish: kuliss

→ Turkish: kulis


scène

→ Persian: سن (sen)

Inherited from Middle French scene (first attested in 1486), borrowed from Latin scaena, scena, from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene, stage”).

der

Corneille, Racine, Molière, Voltaire ont illustré la scène française.
Corneille, Racine, Molière, Voltaire have glorified French theater.


top banana

He was hilarious, and remained the top banana on the tour for years.

(idiomatic, dated) The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show.


behind the scenes

behind-the-scenes (alternative)
BTS (alternative)

Many videos come with features that show what went on behind the scenes to make the movie and special effects.

(idiomatic, theater, film) behind the scenery and stage area; backstage; among the actors; during the production or rehearsal


deathtrap

deathtraps (plural)
death trap (alternative)
death-trap (alternative)

(literature) A plot device where a villain in a story puts a hero in an elaborate dangerous situation for the purposes of attempting a sadistic murder.


circus

en-noun

circus (plural circuses or (rare) circusses or (rare) circi)

circuses (plural)
circusses (plural rare)
circi (plural rare)

Borrowed from Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-, *ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cirque. Displaced native Old English hringsetl (literally “ring seat”).

ncog

(historical) In the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.

(military, World War II) A code name for bomber attacks with fighter escorts in the day time. The attacks were against short-range targets with the intention of occupying enemy fighters and keeping their fighter units in the area concerned.


comedian

comedians (plural)
comedienne (feminine)

→ German: Comedian

→ Indonesian: komedian

From Latin cōmoedia + -an, perhaps modelled on Middle French comédien. By surface analysis, comedy + -an.

(by extension) Any person who is humorous or amusing, either characteristically or on a particular occasion.


но

но̑ (canonical masculine)
nȏ (romanization)


pigeonhole

pigeonholes (plural)
pigeon-hole (alternative)
pigeon hole (alternative)

Stanford University
Thomas Chippendale
pigeon-hole messagebox

The noun is derived from pigeon + hole. The verb is derived from the noun.

分類架 /分类架

one of an array of open compartments in a desk, set of shelves, etc., used for sorting and/or storing letters, papers, or other items; one of an array of open compartments for receiving mail and other messages at a college, office, etc.

kulkuaukko

small opening for looking or passing things through; opening in a ship for passing equipment through

The Play is done: For from the Pigeon-hole / I heard them hiſs the Curtain as it fell.

1732 June 12 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [Henry Fielding], The Covent-Garden Tragedy. […], London: […] J[ohn] Watts, and sold by J. Roberts […], published 5 July 1732, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:

(obsolete, theater) A seat in the top row of the gallery of a theatre.


Althea

From Althaia or Althaea of Greek mythology, from Ancient Greek Ἀλθαία (Althaía).


Besetzung

de-noun

Besetzung f (genitive Besetzung, plural Besetzungen)

Besetzung (genitive)
Besetzungen (plural)
Besetzung (nominative singular)
Besetzungen (definite nominative plural)
Besetzung (genitive singular)
Besetzungen (definite genitive plural)
Besetzung (dative singular)
Besetzungen (dative definite plural)
Besetzung (accusative singular)
Besetzungen (accusative definite plural)

From besetzen (“to place, fill, occupy”) + -ung. Compare Dutch bezetting (“occupation”).


Böse

de-noun

Böse m (weak, genitive Bösen, plural Bösen)

Bösen (genitive)
Bösen (plural)
Böse (nominative singular)
Bösen (definite nominative plural)
Bösen (genitive singular)
Bösen (definite genitive plural)
Bösen (dative singular)
Bösen (dative definite plural)
Bösen (accusative singular)
Bösen (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German bōse, from Old High German bōsi. Cognate with English boast.


Death

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Death.wav

Death can be seen on a tarot card.

7 And when hee had opened the fourth seale, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, & his name that sate on him was Death, and hell followed with him: and power was giuen vnto them, ouer the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, & with hunger, and with death, and with the beastes of the earth.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 6:7–8:

Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion!

1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 137:

He had drunk more than was fit for him, and he was singing some light song, when he saw approaching, as he said, the pale horse mentioned in the Revelation, with Death seated as the rider.

1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

The personification of death, often a skeleton with a scythe, and one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.


Farce

Farce (genitive)
Farcen (plural)
Farce (nominative singular)
Farcen (definite nominative plural)
Farce (genitive singular)
Farcen (definite genitive plural)
Farce (dative singular)
Farcen (dative definite plural)
Farce (accusative singular)
Farcen (accusative definite plural)

[…] und es scheint wirklich, als ob der alte Hegel in seinem Grabe die Geschichte als Weltgeist leitete und mit der größten Gewissenhaftigkeit alles sich zweimal abspinnen ließe, einmal als große Tragödie, und das zweite Mal als lausige Farce, […]

1963 [1851 December 3], Friedrich Engels, “Engels an Marx in London”, in Marx-Engels-Werke, volume 27, page 381; English translation from “Engels to Marx in London”, in Peter & Betty Ross, transl., Marx/Engels Collected Works, translation of original in German, 1982, page 505:

[…] and it really seems as though old Hegel, in the guise of the World Spirit, were directing history from the grave and, with the greatest conscientiousness, causing everything to be re-enacted twice over, once as grand tragedy and the second time as rotten farce, […]

Hegel bemerkt irgendwo, daß alle großen weltgeschichtlichen Tatsachen und Personen sich sozusagen zweimal ereignen. Er hat vergessen hinzuzufügen: das eine Mal als Tragödie, das andere Mal als Farce.

1960 [1852], Karl Marx, chapter I, in Der achtzehnte Brumaire des Louis Bonaparte (Marx-Engels-Werke; 8), page 115; English translation from The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Marx/Engels Collected Works; 11), translation of original in German, 1979, page 103:

Hegel remarks somewhere that all facts and personages of great importance in world history occur, as it were, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.


God

Gods (plural)
od (alternative)
god (alternative)
gawd (alternative)
Gawd (alternative)
g-d (alternative)
G-d (alternative)

→ Pohnpeian: Koht

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós?
Proto-Germanic *gudą
Proto-West Germanic *god
Old English god
Middle English god
Middle English God
English God
Derived from Middle English God. See god.

etymon

God sent Jesus to earth to be the King of the Jews; that is, the one to tell them what they should do. […] I will tell you why God let Jesus die upon the cross.

1899, The Sunday School Journal, page 378:

The first deity of various theistic religions, and the only deity in the Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

(Trinitarian Christianity) God the Father as distinguished from Jesus Christ, God the Son.


God

od (alternative)
god (alternative)
gawd (alternative)
Gawd (alternative)
g-d (alternative)
G-d (alternative)

God, is this because of the "I don't love you anymore" T-shirt I bought? It was a joke!

Admiral Anderson: God... feels like years since I just sat down.

2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel (Priority: Earth):

Short for oh God: expressing annoyance or frustration.


Held

de-noun

Held m (weak, genitive Helden, plural Helden, feminine Heldin)

Helden (genitive)
Helden (plural)
Heldin (feminine)
Held (nominative singular)
Helden (definite nominative plural)
Helden (genitive singular)
Helden (definite genitive plural)
Helden (dative singular)
Helden (dative definite plural)
Helden (accusative singular)
Helden (accusative definite plural)

From Middle High German helt (genitive heldes), from Old High German helid, from Proto-West Germanic *haliþ (“hero”).
Cognate with Old English hæleþ (English health), Old Saxon helið (Dutch held), West Frisian held, Old Norse halr, hǫlðr (Norwegian Nynorsk hauld). Outside of Germanic, possibly also related to Ancient Greek κέλωρ (kélōr), Tocharian B kālyśke (“boy”).


Heldin

Heldin f (genitive Heldin, plural Heldinnen, masculine Held)

Heldin (genitive)
Heldinnen (plural)
Held (masculine)
Heldin (nominative singular)
Heldinnen (definite nominative plural)
Heldin (genitive singular)
Heldinnen (definite genitive plural)
Heldin (dative singular)
Heldinnen (dative definite plural)
Heldin (accusative singular)
Heldinnen (accusative definite plural)

From Held (“hero”) + -in (feminine suffix).


Heroin

Heroin f (genitive Heroin, plural Heroinnen)

Heroin (genitive)
Heroinnen (plural)
Heroin (nominative singular)
Heroinnen (definite nominative plural)
Heroin (genitive singular)
Heroinnen (definite genitive plural)
Heroin (dative singular)
Heroinnen (dative definite plural)
Heroin (accusative singular)
Heroinnen (accusative definite plural)
Heroine (alternative)

From Heros + -in. Alteration of the variant Heroine, which is from Latin heroina.


Humor

Humor m (strong, genitive Humors, plural Humore)

Humors (genitive)
Humore (plural)
Humor (nominative singular)
Humore (definite nominative plural)
Humors (genitive singular)
Humore (definite genitive plural)
Humor (dative singular)
Humoren (dative definite plural)
Humor (accusative singular)
Humore (accusative definite plural)

→ Norwegian: (also via English)

Bokmål: humor

Nynorsk: humor

→ Polish: humor

→ Belarusian: гу́мар (húmar)

→ Ukrainian: гу́мор (húmor)

→ Yiddish: הומאָר (humor) (probably)

Borrowed from Latin hūmor; later a semantic loan from English humour.

ein Sinn für Humor

schräger Humor


Loge

Loge (genitive)
Logen (plural)
Loge (nominative singular)
Logen (definite nominative plural)
Loge (genitive singular)
Logen (definite genitive plural)
Loge (dative singular)
Logen (dative definite plural)
Loge (accusative singular)
Logen (accusative definite plural)

Borrowed from French loge. Doublet of Lobby and Loggia.


Nix

From Latin Nyx, from Ancient Greek Νύξ (Núx).


Pop

“All the other stars would leave the theatre wearing fur coats, fancy hats, and imported French shoes,” said Pop Stern, a longtime stage-doorman.

1982, Jhan Robbins, Front Page Marriage, page 186:

[…] George Melford (Pop, stage doorman) […]

1999, Amy Dunkleberger, Patricia King Hanson, AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, page 216:

[…] Ralph Sanford (doorman); A.S. “Pop” Byron (stage doorman); Allen Fox (photographer); […]

2020, Edwin M. Bradley, Hollywood Musicals You Missed, page 65:

(colloquial, US, theater) Traditional nickname for a stage doorman.


Protagonist

Protagonist m (weak, genitive Protagonisten, plural Protagonisten, feminine Protagonistin)

Protagonisten (genitive)
Protagonisten (plural)
Protagonistin (feminine)
Protagonist (nominative singular)
Protagonisten (definite nominative plural)
Protagonisten (genitive singular)
Protagonisten (definite genitive plural)
Protagonisten (dative singular)
Protagonisten (dative definite plural)
Protagonisten (accusative singular)
Protagonisten (accusative definite plural)

protagonist (main character in a literary work or drama)


Set

Set n or m (strong, genitive Sets, plural Sets)

de:Anzahl de:Filmset de:Kategorientheorie de:Menge_(Datenstruktur) de:Set_und_Setting de:Tischset

set, combination, collection [with aus (+ dative) ‘of some items’]


Tom

→ Tokelauan: Toma

From Middle English Thomme. Hypocorism of Thomas.

Poor Tom's a-cold.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:

"Good,—that's a whack. What's your name?"
"Becky Thatcher. What's yours? Oh, I know. It's Thomas Sawyer."
"That's the name they lick me by. I'm Tom when I'm good. You call me Tom, will you?"

1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VI, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 70:

What I'm worrying about is what Tom says when he starts talking."
"Uncle Tom?"
"I wish there was something else you could call him except 'Uncle Tom'," said Aunt Dahlia a little testily. "Every time you do it, I expect to see him turn black and start playing the banjo."

1934, P. G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves:

"We're not sure - we were expecting a girl for some reason. But we're thinking of something simple like Tom."
"Thomas?"
"No, just Tom."

2008, David Park, The Truth Commissioner, →ISBN, page 366:

At the heart of much of the controversy surrounding DOGE’s review and access to much of the federal government’s financial payment data was the unique pairing of Tom Krause, a long-time software CEO, and Marko Elez, a 25-year-old recent employee at Musk’s company SpaceX.

2025 February 7, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Rene Marsh, “‘Second American Revolution’: The team behind DOGE’s government overhaul”, in CNN:

A diminutive of the male given name Thomas, also used as a formal male given name.


Tour

Tour (genitive)
Touren (plural)
Tour (nominative singular)
Touren (definite nominative plural)
Tour (genitive singular)
Touren (definite genitive plural)
Tour (dative singular)
Touren (dative definite plural)
Tour (accusative singular)
Touren (accusative definite plural)

16th century, borrowed from Middle French tour. Feminine gender after words such as Reise, Fahrt, Drehung.

(music, theater) a series of artistic appearances in different places


satirical

en-adj

satirical (comparative more satirical, superlative most satirical)

more satirical (comparative)
most satirical (superlative)

/səˈtɪɹɪkəl/

Spitting Image was a famous satirical television program.

Given his remarks in The English People about the dangers of Standard English, and the fact that the satirical Newspeak of Nineteen Eighty-Four is an engineered language[…]

2000 October 15, John E. Joseph, Limiting the Arbitrary: Linguistic Naturalism and Its Opposites in Plato's Cratylus and Modern Theories of Language, →ISBN, page 155:

Of, pertaining to, or connected with satire.


jump the shark

en-verb

jump the shark (third-person singular simple present jumps the shark, present participle jumping the shark, simple past and past participle jumped the shark)

jumps the shark (present singular third-person)
jumping the shark (participle present)
jumped the shark (participle past)
jumped the shark (past)

From "Hollywood (Part 3)", a 1977 episode during the fifth season of the American television series Happy Days, in which the character Fonzie jumped over a shark on waterskis. The expression argues that it was at this point that the show bore no similarity to its original form.

Pintsize: Wait, don’t you want to know why I’m tied up and hanging from the ceiling?
Faye: Not really. Nighty night!
Pintsize: Shit! My wacky antics have jumped the shark!

2007, Jeph Jacques, “Time To Add A Cute Kid To The Cast”, in Questionable Content, number 951:

The Bangles were a fine all-woman band, starting with a lovely cover of Prince's "Manic Monday." "Walk Like an Egyptian" was cute, and the ladies rocked out an unlikely cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter." But they jumped the shark with the treacly "Eternal Flame," and the end of the road was in sight.

2008, Mark Fogarty, Went to See the Gypsy, Lulu.com, published 2008, →ISBN, page 150:

And I knew something was up when I started getting press releases about "tape labels." Maybe vinyl had finally jumped the shark, and magnetic tape was due for a return.

2008 October 11, Cortney Harding, “Tape echo”, in Billboard:

(idiomatic, by extension) To experience a decline in quality, appeal, popularity, etc.


dutchman

From Dutchman. Attested mainly in the US from the late 19th century.

(theater) A cloth strip attached to a flat to conceal a joint.


unobtainium

en-noun

unobtainium (countable and uncountable, plural unobtainiums)

unobtainiums (plural)
unobtanium (alternative)
unobtanium (alternative)

From unobtain(able) + -ium (suffix typical of names of atomic elements), modelled after uranium and titanium.

suffix

Coordinate term: adamantium

Thus the invention of high temperature fuels will enable us to consider cores which are radiation cooled; such cores would be surrounded by large tanks (cooled by water) which in turn would be penetrated by beam holes. The beam holes themselves would probably have to be made of "unobtanium". (This "unobtanium" is a word coined at Atomics International to describe the material needed to make reactor projects feasible.) In between the radiation cooled reactors and the water cooled reactors is a regime suitable for liquid metal (including boiling liquid) cooled reactors. Once again "unobtanium" is needed.

1962, Charles N. Kelber, “Research Reactors”, in Earl W. Phelan, editor, Current Trends in Nuclear Power: A Symposium Sponsored by the University of Arizona in Cooperation with Argonne National Laboratory: Tucson, Arizona, February 26 – March 12, 1962, Argonne, Ill.: Argonne National Laboratory, →OCLC, page 17, column 2:

In order to illustrate some of the features of data processing under ideal conditions, a set of simulated data was generated and is presented in the last four columns of Table II. The hypothetical material is called Unobtainium.

[1978 September, Lynn C. Rogers, Ahid D. Nashif, “Computerized Processing and Empirical Processing of Viscoelastic Material Property Data and Preliminary Constrained Layer Damping Treatment Design”, in The Shock and Vibration Bulletin (Bulletin; 48, part 2 (Isolation and Damping, Impact, Blast)), Washington, D.C.: The Shock and Vibration Information Center, Naval Research Laboratory, →OCLC, page 26, column 2:

The names of materials presently used in aerospace applications are familiar: magnesium, aluminum, titanium, and so on. Propulsion scientists call the ideal material for turbine engines "Unobtainium," because it does not exist.

As early as 1969, during the initial Phase A studies, Lockheed had taken the initiative in proposing a two-stage fully-reusable design with both stages built of aluminum and using silica tiles for thermal protection. [...] Though that company indeed was in the forefront in developing such tiles, they were items for laboratory research. A design that specified their use had no more intrinsic credibility than one that proposed to use the miracle metals Unobtanium and Wishalloy.

1999, T[homas] A. Heppenheimer, “A Shuttle to Fit the Budget”, in The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA’s Search for a Reusable Space Vehicle (The NASA History Series; NASA SP-4221), Washington, D.C.: Office of Policy and Plans, NASA History Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 331:

This is not a Tom Tomorrow Bike, made of NASA unobtainiums and employing warp drives that have yet to be invented. It could be built as soon as the production technology is put on the line and powered-up, because all the vehicle technology is proven, off-the-shelf stuff.

2002 February, Kevin Cameron, “Supercharged: It’s Good to B-King”, in Cycle World, volume 41, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38, column 2:

A fictional material or component which, if it existed, would enable one to easily solve a hard problem.

難得素 /难得素

fictional component or material which would enable one to easily solve a hard problem


pasquinade

en-noun

pasquinade (countable and uncountable, plural pasquinades)

From Middle French, from Italian pasquinata, from Pasquino, name given to a statue in Rome on which lampoons were posted.

I thought the whole tale would shortly be served up in racy pasquinade—but Catherine, who might have said anything, didn't say a word.

1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter IX, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 196:

A lampoon, originally as published in public; a satire or libel on someone.


narr

narri (genitive)
narri (partitive)
narr (nominative singular)
narrid (nominative plural)
narr (accusative nominative singular)
narrid (accusative nominative plural)
narri (accusative genitive singular)
narrid (accusative genitive plural)
narri (genitive singular)
narride (genitive plural)
narri (partitive singular)
narre (partitive plural)
narrisid (partitive plural)
narri (illative singular)
narrisse (illative singular)
narridesse (illative plural)
narresse (illative plural)
narris (inessive singular)
narrides (inessive plural)
narres (inessive plural)
narrist (elative singular)
narridest (elative plural)
narrest (elative plural)
narrile (allative singular)
narridele (allative plural)
narrele (allative plural)
narril (adessive singular)
narridel (adessive plural)
narrel (adessive plural)
narrilt (ablative singular)
narridelt (ablative plural)
narrelt (ablative plural)
narriks (singular translative)
narrideks (plural translative)
narreks (plural translative)
narrini (singular terminative)
narrideni (plural terminative)
narrina (essive singular)
narridena (essive plural)
narrita (abessive singular)
narrideta (abessive plural)
narriga (comitative singular)
narridega (comitative plural)

Borrowed from Middle Low German narre, itself borrowed from Middle High German narre, from Old High German narro.


induction

induction (countable and uncountable, plural inductions)

Inherited from Middle English induction, from Old French induction, from Latin inductiō, from indūcō (“I lead”). By surface analysis, induct + -ion or induce + -tion.

(theater) Use of rumors to twist and complicate the plot of a play or to narrate in a way that does not have to state truth nor fact within the play.


breakaway

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-breakaway.wav

EFFECT […] This usually refers to special effects such as flash pots, torches, crashes, breakaways, etc.

1980, Robert Anderson, Theatre Talk, page 19:

(theater) An item of scenery designed to be broken or destroyed during the performance.


jocular

en-adj

jocular (comparative more jocular, superlative most jocular)

more jocular (comparative)
most jocular (superlative)

/ˈd͡ʒɒkjʊlə/

/ˈd͡ʒɑkjəlɚ/

From Latin iocularis, from ioculus (“a little jest”), diminutive of iocus (“a jest”).

He was in a jocular mood all day.

All we had was a short and jocular conversation.

From the tone of the speaker, the last words might be understood to be jocular.

1865, Horatio Alger, “chapter IV”, in 'Paul Prescott's Charge:

Sometimes he would notice it, pat it, call it half-mocking, half-jocular names, and so make it caper with extraordinary delight.

1896, H. G. Wells, “chapter 15”, in The Island of Dr. Moreau:

Then papa began to get very tired of Jones, and fidgeted and finally said, with jocular irony, that Jones had better stay all night, they could give him a shake-down.

1910, Stephen Leacock, The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones:


Britannia

Learned borrowing from Latin Britannia. Doublet of Britain and Brittany.

Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf#English

A suburb in Cymmer community, Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST0390).


dramaturgy

en-noun

dramaturgy (usually uncountable, plural dramaturgies)

/ˈdɹæməˌtɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒi/

(theater) The art of dramatic composition for the stage.


squib

Possibly imitative of a small explosion.

unk

Possibly

(film, theater) In special effects, a small explosive used to replicate a bullet hitting a surface or a gunshot wound on an actor.


héros

fr-noun

héros m (plural héros, feminine héroïne)

14th century, borrowed from Latin hērōs, from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs). The aspiration is secondary and originated in the desire to avoid les héros sounding like les zéros. The related words remain unaspirated.

le héros de notre temps

mourir en héros


шала

mk-noun

шала • (šala) f

šala (romanization)
шала (indefinite singular)
шали (indefinite plural)
шалата (definite singular unspecified)
шалите (definite plural unspecified)
шалава (definite proximal singular)
шаливе (definite plural proximal)
шалана (definite distal singular)
шалине (definite distal plural)
шало (singular vocative)
шали (plural vocative)


шала

ша́ла (canonical feminine)
šála (romanization)
шала (nominative singular)
шале (nominative plural)
шале (genitive singular)
шала (genitive plural)
шали (dative singular)
шалама (dative plural)
шалу (accusative singular)
шале (accusative plural)
шало (singular vocative)
шале (plural vocative)
шали (locative singular)
шалама (locative plural)
шалом (instrumental singular)
шалама (instrumental plural)


šala

šála (canonical feminine)
ша́ла (Cyrillic)
šala (nominative singular)
šale (nominative plural)
šale (genitive singular)
šala (genitive plural)
šali (dative singular)
šalama (dative plural)
šalu (accusative singular)
šale (accusative plural)
šalo (singular vocative)
šale (plural vocative)
šali (locative singular)
šalama (locative plural)
šalom (instrumental singular)
šalama (instrumental plural)


takeoff

en-noun

takeoff (countable and uncountable, plural takeoffs)

takeoffs (plural)
take-off (alternative)

Weird Al's song "Lasagna" is a takeoff on the popular song "La Bamba".

I came across a little pamphlet of the period, yellow and almost undecipherable, which, on examination, I found to be a rather amusing skit or satirical take-off on the profit system.

1897, Edward Bellamy, “ch. 23”, in Equality:

I had originally titled it, On Claiming An Identity They Taught Me To Despise. I said that having been a Renaissance historian, I was doing a take-off of the Latin tracts—"On This," "On That," "On the Beauty of Women."

1981 February 7, Beth Hodges, Michelle Cliff, “An Interview With Michelle Cliff”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 28, page 8:

A parody or lampoon of someone or something.

I'll give you an estimate after I do the quantity takeoffs for the trusses and structural steel.

A quantification, especially of building materials.

Encyclopaedia of Sport
The take-off should be selected with great care, and a pit of large dimensions provided on the landing side.

The spot from which one takes off; specifically, the place from which a jumper rises in leaping.

Steamer Lane, home of the world's latest takeoff.

1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer:

(surfing) The initial movement a surfer makes to start riding a wave.


walk-on

(theater, film) An actor of a small (or "bit") part in a theatrical production or film, often without speaking lines.


revolve

From Middle English revolven (“to change direction”), borrowed from Old French revolver (“to reflect upon”), from Latin revolvere (“turn over, roll back, reflect upon”), from re- (“back”) + volvō (“roll”); see voluble, volve.

der

(theater) The rotation of part of the scenery within a theatrical production.

[…] a revolving stage, two-level platforms stage left and stage right, and a large bridge that connected the platforms midstage, twelve feet up off the revolve.

2003, Gary Philip Cohen, The Community Theater Handbook, page 134:


Bühne

Bühne (genitive)
Bühnen (plural)
Bühne (nominative singular)
Bühnen (definite nominative plural)
Bühne (genitive singular)
Bühnen (definite genitive plural)
Bühne (dative singular)
Bühnen (dative definite plural)
Bühne (accusative singular)
Bühnen (accusative definite plural)

→ Kashubian: bina

→ Romanian: bină

→ Serbo-Croatian: bina

From Middle High German büne (“wooden stage, platform, deck, ceiling”), of obscure origin.


continuity

en-noun

continuity (countable and uncountable, plural continuities)

Borrowed from Middle French continuité, from Latin continuitas, equivalent to continue + -ity.

In “Treehouse Of Horror” episodes, the rules aren’t just different—they don’t even exist. If writers want Homer to kill Flanders or for a segment to end with a marriage between a woman and a giant ape, they can do so without worrying about continuity or consistency or fans griping that the gang is behaving out of character.

2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(narratology) A narrative device in episodic fiction where previous and/or future events in a series of stories are accounted for in present stories.


humorously

en-adv

humorously (comparative more humorously, superlative most humorously)

more humorously (comparative)
most humorously (superlative)
humourously (alternative)

He always managed to make people laugh at the tea table - he could pull faces so humorously.

But let’s fast-forward two decades and look at a couple of interesting tokiponidos (as these descendants are humorously termed) that were both proposed in mid 2020.

2022 March 28, Simon Davies, “Conlang Excursions 5: Making a Good Thing Better”, in ESF Connected:


номер

bg-noun

но́мер • (nómer) m

но́мер (canonical)
nómer (romanization)
но́мер (indefinite singular)
номера́ (indefinite plural)
но́мерът (definite singular subjective)
номера́та (definite plural subjective)
но́мера (definite objective singular)
номера́та (definite objective plural)
но́мера (count-form plural)
ну́мер (alternative)

Borrowed from Russian но́мер (nómer). See there for more.


ara

head

ara (definite accusative arayı, plural aralar)

arayı (accusative definite)
aralar (plural)
ara (nominative singular)
aralar (nominative plural)
arayı (accusative definite singular)
araları (accusative definite plural)
araya (dative singular)
aralara (dative plural)
arada (locative singular)
aralarda (locative plural)
aradan (ablative singular)
aralardan (ablative plural)
aranın (genitive singular)
araların (genitive plural)
aram (first-person nominative singular)
aralarım (first-person nominative singular)
aran (nominative second-person singular)
araların (nominative second-person singular)
arası (nominative singular third-person)
araları (nominative singular third-person)
aramız (first-person nominative plural)
aralarımız (first-person nominative plural)
aranız (nominative plural second-person)
aralarınız (nominative plural second-person)
araları (nominative plural third-person)
aramı (accusative definite first-person singular)
aralarımı (accusative definite first-person singular)
aranı (accusative definite second-person singular)
aralarını (accusative definite second-person singular)
arasını (accusative definite singular third-person)
aralarını (accusative definite singular third-person)
aramızı (accusative definite first-person plural)
aralarımızı (accusative definite first-person plural)
aranızı (accusative definite plural second-person)
aralarınızı (accusative definite plural second-person)
aralarını (accusative definite plural third-person)
arama (dative first-person singular)
aralarıma (dative first-person singular)
arana (dative second-person singular)
aralarına (dative second-person singular)
arasına (dative singular third-person)
aralarına (dative singular third-person)
aramıza (dative first-person plural)
aralarımıza (dative first-person plural)
aranıza (dative plural second-person)
aralarınıza (dative plural second-person)
aralarına (dative plural third-person)
aramda (first-person locative singular)
aralarımda (first-person locative singular)
aranda (locative second-person singular)
aralarında (locative second-person singular)
arasında (locative singular third-person)
aralarında (locative singular third-person)
aramızda (first-person locative plural)
aralarımızda (first-person locative plural)
aranızda (locative plural second-person)
aralarınızda (locative plural second-person)
aralarında (locative plural third-person)
aramdan (ablative first-person singular)
aralarımdan (ablative first-person singular)
arandan (ablative second-person singular)
aralarından (ablative second-person singular)
arasından (ablative singular third-person)
aralarından (ablative singular third-person)
aramızdan (ablative first-person plural)
aralarımızdan (ablative first-person plural)
aranızdan (ablative plural second-person)
aralarınızdan (ablative plural second-person)
aralarından (ablative plural third-person)
aramın (first-person genitive singular)
aralarımın (first-person genitive singular)
aranın (genitive second-person singular)
aralarının (genitive second-person singular)
arasının (genitive singular third-person)
aralarının (genitive singular third-person)
aramızın (first-person genitive plural)
aralarımızın (first-person genitive plural)
aranızın (genitive plural second-person)
aralarınızın (genitive plural second-person)
aralarının (genitive plural third-person)

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish آرا (ara), from Proto-Turkic *hār- (“split, divide, cleave in twain”). Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰺𐰀 (r¹a /āra/).

der

(theater, music) interval, entr'acte, interlude


blockhead

blockheads (plural)
block head (alternative)
block-head (alternative)

Waldo was sent that from an elderly blockhead named Fuzzy in Gibtown, Florida. That's the town to which most freaks retire.

2005, Brian M. Wiprud, Stuffed, →ISBN, page 262:

He is a classic sideshow performer, entertaining crowds with feats such as sword swallowing, fire-eating, and chainsaw juggling. His specialty, however, is the human blockhead act, hammering six-inch nails up his nostrils.

2014, Louis J. Parascandola, John Parascandola -, A Coney Island Reader: Through Dizzy Gates of Illusion, →ISBN, page 306:

Burkhardt was a legendary figure in the sideshow world, a mentor and instructor to a new generation of blockheads and other working acts who now train in private classes at Coney Island USA's Sideshow School with Burkhardt's disciple Todd Robbins (Zigun 2006).

2016, M. Chemers, Staging Stigma: A Critical Examination of the American Freak Show, →ISBN:

A sideshow performer who hammers nails or similar items through his or her nostril into the nasal cavity; a human blockhead.


anticlimax

en-noun

anticlimax (countable and uncountable, plural anticlimaxes)

anticlimaxes (plural)
anti-climax (alternative)

A failed or reverse climax, particularly:

(narratology) An unsatisfying resolution to a narrative, usually owing to a deus ex machina or similarly trivial resolution of the main conflict.


aktor

pl-noun

aktor m pers (female equivalent aktorka, diminutive aktorzyk, augmentative aktorzyna or aktorzysko)

aktorka (feminine)
aktorzyk (diminutive)
aktorzyna (augmentative)
aktorzysko (augmentative)
aktor (nominative singular)
aktorzy (nominative plural)
aktory (derogatory nominative plural)
aktora (genitive singular)
aktorów (genitive plural)
aktorowi (dative singular)
aktorom (dative plural)
aktora (accusative singular)
aktorów (accusative plural)
aktorem (instrumental singular)
aktorami (instrumental plural)
aktorze (locative singular)
aktorach (locative plural)
aktorze (singular vocative)
aktorzy (plural vocative)

Learned borrowing from Latin āctor. Sense 1 is a semantic loan from French acteur. First attested in 1587.

ref

Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “aktor”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]

(film, television, theater) actor (person who performs in a theatrical play or film)


hey presto

(British) Used by stage magicians, when performing a magic trick.


blender

→ Turkish: blender

A blender is added to a wig in the same way that a quick front is added. It can be added at the same time as the fronting lace is added or after the wig is completed.

2013, Martha Ruskai, Allison Lowery, Wig Making and Styling: A Complete Guide for Theatre & Film, page 80:

(theater) A piece of fabric sewn into the front of a theatrical wig to make it blend in with the performer's natural hair.


satirically

en-adv

satirically (comparative more satirically, superlative most satirically)

more satirically (comparative)
most satirically (superlative)

From satiric + -ally or satirical + -ly.


satiric

en-adj

satiric (comparative more satiric, superlative most satiric)

more satiric (comparative)
most satiric (superlative)
satirick (alternative)
satirique (alternative)

From Middle French satirique, from Late Latin satiricus.


vai

𣘾 (CJK)
𦠘 (CJK)
𦢳 (CJK)
ban (alternative)

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Jessica Nguyen (Pamputt)-vai.wav

Attested as Northern Middle Vietnamese ꞗĕai, ꞗai in Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), a dictionary based chiefly on the Northern dialects.
Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 多埋 (MC ta meaj) (modern SV: đa mai).
Compare Proto-Katuic *ʔapaal (“shoulder”) (whence Pacoh apal).
Some North Central dialects have the form ban with unlenited ‹b› (vs. mainstream form with lenited ‹v›) and ‹-n› reflex of earlier *-l.

vai chính

vai phụ