slapstick: Meaning and Definition of

slap•stick

Pronunciation: (slap'stik"), [key]
— n.
  1. broad comedy characterized by boisterous action, as the throwing of pies in actors' faces, mugging, and obvious farcical situations and jokes.
  2. a stick or lath used by harlequins, clowns, etc., as in pantomime, for striking other performers, esp. a combination of laths that make a loud, clapping noise without hurting the person struck.
—adj.
  1. using, or marked by the use of, broad farce and horseplay: a slapstick motion picture.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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