slapstick English · revision 1360

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[slap]] and [[stick]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A device of two flat pieces of wood joined at one end, which made a loud slapping noise when a clown or actor struck someone with it (1896).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The slapstick was used in farce and pantomime, where the noise was louder than the blow.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) Through phrases such as ''slapstick comedy'', the word came to mean the whole style of boisterous physical comedy,^(AHD)^(Etymonline) used as an adjective by 1906^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and as a noun in this sense by 1916 or 1926.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1896 – the clown's device of two sticks.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1906 – adjective, of knockabout comedy.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1916 – noun, farcical comedy, per Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1926 – noun, farcical comedy, per the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Boisterous comedy based on [[farce]], chases, collisions and practical jokes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A paddle of two flat pieces of wood that makes a loud slap, formerly used by performers in farces.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Using or marked by broad farce and horseplay.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[slapsticky]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[horseplay]]

+ * [[farce]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}