31 October 2017
burlesque
[ber-lesk]
noun
1. an artistic composition, especially literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity.
2. any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature.
3. Also, burlesk. a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus.
adjective
4. involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject.
5. of, relating to, or like stage-show burlesque.
verb (used with object), burlesqued, burlesquing.
6. to make ridiculous by mocking representation.
verb (used without object), burlesqued, burlesquing.
7. to use caricature.
Origin of burlesque
French, Italian
1650-1660; < French < Italian burlesco, equivalent to burl(a) jest (perhaps < Spanish; cf. burladero ) + -esco -esque
Related forms
burlesquely, adverb
burlesquer, noun
preburlesque, adjective
unburlesqued, adjective
Can be confused
burlesque, caricature, cartoon, parody, satire (see synonym study at the current entry)
Synonyms
1. satire, lampoon, farce.
Synonym Study
1. Burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty refer to the literary or dramatic forms that imitate serious works or subjects to achieve a humorous or satiric purpose. The characteristic device of burlesque is mockery of both high and low through association with their opposites: a burlesque of high and low life. Caricature, usually associated with visual arts or with visual effects in literary works, implies exaggeration of characteristic details: The caricature emphasized his nose. Parody achieves its humor through application of the manner or technique, usually of a well-known writer, to unaccustomed subjects: a parody by Swift. Travesty implies a grotesque form of burlesque: characters so changed as to produce a travesty.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for burlesque
Contemporary Examples
burlesque artists are often in it for the costumes, spending what they earn on fabric, feathers, and crystals.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending
Anne Berry
September 12, 2014
“The nature of the burlesque scene in London is as diverse as burlesque itself,” said Howard Wilmot, creator of Boylexe/Burlexe.
Inside London’s Underground Burlesque and Fetish Scene
Liza Foreman
August 11, 2014
Boylexe is a spin-off of a show about women in burlesque called Burlexe, which likewise mixes striptease, monologue, and song.
Inside London’s Underground Burlesque and Fetish Scene
Liza Foreman
August 11, 2014
He soon employs his new house-guest as a dancer in his burlesque theater and eventually pimps her out to select clients.
Cannes Diary: James Gray’s ‘The Immigrant,’ Starring Marion Cotillard, Shines
Richard Porton
May 24, 2013
Historical Examples
burlesque, farce and extravagance of situation and dialogue.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
burlesque of character and calling puts in an occasional appearance.
The Dramatic Values in Plautus
Wilton Wallace Blancke
Deem not this collocation simply a burlesque on Scientific categories.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright
Nailed several anti-saloon and burlesque planks in his platform.
Who Was Who: 5000 B. C. to Date
Anonymous
Anagram
sequel rub
Today’s quote
Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
– Khalil Gibran
On this day
31 October – Halloween (All Hallow’s Eve), celebrated in a number of countries on the eve of the Christian festival, All Hallows’ Day (or All Saints’ Day).
31 October 1517 – Protestant Revolution starts when Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the Wittenburg Church in Germany in protest against what he saw as corruption in the Catholic Church.
31 October 1876 – large cyclone strikes India, killing more than 200,000 people.
31 October 1941 – completion of Mt Rushmore sculptures near Keystone, South Dakota. It is a sculpture carved into the granite face of the mountain and ended because funding ran out. The sculpture features the faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Construction started on 4 October 1927. It was the brainchild of Doane Robinson. The carvings are 18m (60′) high and were carved by Gutzon Borglum and a team of 400 workers.
31 October 1975 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announces the enactment of the Racial Discrimination Act which made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.
31 October 1984 – Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, assassinated by Sikh extremists.