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pantomime

noun
🔊/ˈpæntəmaɪm/
🔊/ˈpæntəmaɪm/
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  1. (also British English, informal panto)
     [countable, uncountable] (in the UK) a type of play with music, dancing and jokes, that is based on a fairy tale and is usually performed at Christmas（英国多在圣诞节期间上演的）童话剧
    • We took the children to a pantomime.我们带孩子们哑剧了。
    • He has also appeared in pantomime.他还出现过哑剧。
    • the pantomime season哑剧季
    Culture pantomimepantomimePantomimes, also called pantos, are put on in theatres throughout the UK for several weeks before and after Christmas. Most are intended for children. They are a British tradition which has developed over several centuries. A pantomime combines a fairy tale with comedy, music and singing, acrobatics and verse. Among the most popular stories are Aladdin, Babes in the Wood, Cinderella, Dick Whittington, and Jack and the Beanstalk.The audience usually takes an active part in a performance: characters on stage speak to the audience directly and they shout back their answer. Sometimes they have noisy arguments, exchanging shouts of 'Oh yes, it is‘ and 'Oh no, it isn't‘. Audiences are often encouraged to join in the singing, and to boo loudly whenever a bad character appears. Other pantomime traditions include that of the hero, called the principal boy, being played by a young woman, and a funny old woman, called a dame, being played by a male comedian. Pantomimes often also include several animal characters played by actors in animal costume.Many of the most successful pantomimes performed in professional theatres have well-known television or sports personalities playing leading roles. Hundreds of amateur pantomimes are also put on each year.Pantomimes of this kind do not exist in the US where the word pantomime means a play or entertainment performed without words.
    Topics Film and theatrec2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • Christmas
    pantomime + noun
    • cow
    • dame
    • horse
    • …
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable, countable, usually singular] the use of movement and the expression of your face to communicate something or to tell a story哑剧；默剧 synonym mime
    • a magical tale told through pantomime and song通过哑剧和歌曲讲述一个神奇的故事
    • When I finally arrived, he made a pantomime of checking his watch and shaking it in disbelief.当我终于到达时，他做了一个哑剧，检查他的手表，并摇它难以置信。
  3. [countable, usually singular] (British English) a silly and confused situation 滑稽可笑的局面synonym farce
    • The company’s board meetings had become a pantomime and no decisions were ever made.该公司的董事会会议已成为一种哑剧，并且从未做出任何决定。
    4. Word Originlate 16th cent. (first used in the Latin form and denoting an actor using mime): from French pantomime or Latin pantomimus, from Greek pantomimos ‘imitator of all’ (from panto- ‘all, universal’ and mime).