Burlesque

Alternative forms

• burlesk archaic

Origin

Borrowing from fr {{2}} burlesque, from Italian burlesco ("parodic").

Full definition of burlesque

Adjective

1. Parodical; parodic
• AddisonIt is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras.

Derived terms

• burlesquely

Noun

1. A derisive art form that mocks by imitation; a parody.
• AddisonBurlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accoutrements of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people.
• DrydenThe dull burlesque appeared with impudence,
  And pleased by novelty in spite of sense.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 2, “H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what ... will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday … that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. …”
2. A variety adult entertainment show, usually including titillation such as striptease, most common from the 1880s to the 1930s.
3. A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion.
• BurkeWho is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute?

Synonyms

• (parody) lampoon, travesty

Verb

1. To make a burlesque parody of
• When the venerable New York Times took my quote in which I described the neon elements as "burlesquing the myth of male dominance" and instead printed "he prefers to describe them as . . . symbols of male dominance" it became clear that dealing with journalists was going to be one long, rocky road.
2. To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language.
• StillingfleetThey burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule.----