"yes and" meaning in English

See yes and in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: yes ands [present, singular, third-person], yes anding [participle, present], yes anded [participle, past], yes anded [past]
Etymology: From a well-known rule in improv acting, wherein improvised lines must (figuratively) be answered with yes and... in order to continue the scene. Head templates: {{en-verb}} yes and (third-person singular simple present yes ands, present participle yes anding, simple past and past participle yes anded)
  1. (acting) To go along with what is offered, especially in a performative context, and to accept and expand upon it; to go with the flow; to take it in stride. Categories (topical): Acting
    Sense id: en-yes_and-en-verb-5RIXkgF~ Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Topics: acting, broadcasting, entertainment, film, lifestyle, media, television, theater

Download JSON data for yes and meaning in English (1.9kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "From a well-known rule in improv acting, wherein improvised lines must (figuratively) be answered with yes and... in order to continue the scene.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "yes ands",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anding",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anded",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anded",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "yes and (third-person singular simple present yes ands, present participle yes anding, simple past and past participle yes anded)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Acting",
          "orig": "en:Acting",
          "parents": [
            "Art",
            "Culture",
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Margaret Hicks, Chicago Comedy: A Fairly Serious History",
          "text": "If Lord Buckley made standup courageous, then Lenny Bruce “yes anded” that and ushered in standup for a new age",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To go along with what is offered, especially in a performative context, and to accept and expand upon it; to go with the flow; to take it in stride."
      ],
      "id": "en-yes_and-en-verb-5RIXkgF~",
      "links": [
        [
          "acting",
          "acting#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "go along",
          "go along"
        ],
        [
          "go with the flow",
          "go with the flow"
        ],
        [
          "take it in stride",
          "take it in stride"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(acting) To go along with what is offered, especially in a performative context, and to accept and expand upon it; to go with the flow; to take it in stride."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "acting",
        "broadcasting",
        "entertainment",
        "film",
        "lifestyle",
        "media",
        "television",
        "theater"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "yes and"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From a well-known rule in improv acting, wherein improvised lines must (figuratively) be answered with yes and... in order to continue the scene.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "yes ands",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anding",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anded",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "yes anded",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "yes and (third-person singular simple present yes ands, present participle yes anding, simple past and past participle yes anded)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "en:Acting"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Margaret Hicks, Chicago Comedy: A Fairly Serious History",
          "text": "If Lord Buckley made standup courageous, then Lenny Bruce “yes anded” that and ushered in standup for a new age",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To go along with what is offered, especially in a performative context, and to accept and expand upon it; to go with the flow; to take it in stride."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "acting",
          "acting#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "go along",
          "go along"
        ],
        [
          "go with the flow",
          "go with the flow"
        ],
        [
          "take it in stride",
          "take it in stride"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(acting) To go along with what is offered, especially in a performative context, and to accept and expand upon it; to go with the flow; to take it in stride."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "acting",
        "broadcasting",
        "entertainment",
        "film",
        "lifestyle",
        "media",
        "television",
        "theater"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "yes and"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (1d5a7d1 and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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