Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Burlesque |
BurlesqueAdjective1. Relating to or characteristic of a burlesque; "burlesque theater". Noun1. A theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor; consists of comic skits and short turns (and sometimes striptease). 2. A composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way. Verb1. Make a parody of; "The students spoofed the teachers". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "burlesque" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Burlesque Father of burlesque poetry. Hipponax of Ephesus. (Sixth century B.C.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Art
"Burlesque" was originally a form of art that mocked by imitation. It was often ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of authors and artists with absurd descriptions. In this, the term "burlesque" was often used interchangeably with "pastiche," "parody," and, at the turn of the 18th century, "mock-heroic."
As Performance
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Burlesque has come to be a genre of adult entertainment, focusing on aspects of humor, satire and sexual tantalization.
Overview
Initially, the term typically referred everything from comic sketches to dance routines, usually lampooning the social attitudes and entertainment venues of upper classes. Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment focused on "low brow" and ribald subjects. Later, the humor and presentation focused almost entirely on sexuality.
History
The genre's origins are rooted in the 1840s, early in the Victorian era, a time of culture clashes between the social rules of established aristocracy and a working-class society. The genre often mocked such established entertainment forms as opera, Shakespearian drama, musicals, and ballet. The costuming (or lack thereof) increasingly focused on forms of dress considered in appropriate for polite society.
By the 1880s, the genre had created some rules for defining itself:
In the 1930s a social crackdown on the burlesque shows lead to their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the strip tease. The advent of various forms of pornography gradually replaced titillation.
- Minimal Costuming, often focusing on the female form.
- Sexually suggestive dialog, dance, plotlines and staging.
- Quick-witted humor, lacking complexity.
- Short routines or sketches, with minimal plot cohesion across a show.
External links
- History of Burlesque: http://www.musicals101.com/burlesque.htm
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Burlesque."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A striptease is a performance, usually a dance, in which the performer gradually removes their clothing for the purposes of sexually arousing the audience, usually performed in nightclubs. The "teasing" involves the slowness of undressing, while the audience are eager to see more nudity. Delay tactics include additional clothes under clothes being removed, putting clothes or hands in front of just undressed body parts, etc. Emphasis is on the act of undressing, not on the state of being undressed: in some cases the performance is finished as soon as the undressing is finished.
Overview
A strip club is a nightclub which specializes in striptease. Striptease performers are called, among other things, strippers or exotic dancers.
A variation on striptease is lap dancing or contact dancing. Here the performers, in addition to stripteasing for tips, also offer "private dances" which involve more attention for individual audience members. The contact can vary from a simple upclose dance with no touching, to physical contact with the stripper to, in some clubs, sexual intercourse. Variations on this theme include table dancing (performer dances on customer's table) and couch dancing (customer sits on a couch).
History of striptease
Striptease is an ancient art: Salome performed a striptease for Herod, and for her reward asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
- Note: much is missing here, and needs to be written.
Striptease enjoyed a revival with the advent of burlesque theatre, with famous strippers such as Gypsy Rose Lee.
In 1940, humorist H. L. Mencken coined the term ecdysiast as a euphemism for strippers; it derives from the Greek ekdusis meaning "to molt."
Until the 1970s, strippers were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences. Since then, male strippers, performing to female audiences, have also become common. Male and female strippers also perform for gay and lesbian audiences respectively, as well as for both sexes in pansexual contexts.
Many erotic actresses in the US make their main living from their earnings as featured strippers.
Notable Late Strippers
- Lili St. Cyr
- Gypsy Rose Lee
- Sally Rand
- Carol Doda
- Dixie Evans
Notable Modern Strippers
See also: Burlesque, New Burlesque, Striptease (movie), Striptease (book), The Full Monty
- Dita Von Teese
- The Pussycat Dolls
- Catherine D'Lish
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Striptease."
Synonyms: BurlesqueSynonyms: charade (n), lampoon (n), mockery (n), pasquinade (n), put-on (n), sendup (n), takeoff (n), travesty (n), parody (v), spoof (v). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: caricaturing (fine arts, language). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Copy | Parody, caricature, burlesque, travesty, travestie, paraphrase. |
Disrespect | Have in derision; hold in derision; deride, scoff, barrack, sneer, laugh at, ridicule, gibe, mock, jeer, hiss, hoot, taunt, twit, niggle, gleek, gird, flout, fleer; roast, turn into ridicule; burlesque; laugh to scorn; (contempt); smoke; fool; make game of, make a fool of, make an April fool of; play a practical joke; lead one a dance, run the rig upon, have a fling at, scout; mob. |
Imitation | Mock, take off, mimic, ape, simulate, impersonate, personate; act; (drama); represent; counterfeit, parody, travesty, caricature, lampoon, burlesque. |
Misrepresentation | Verb: misrepresent, distort, overdraw, exaggerate, caricature, daub; burlesque, parody, travesty. |
Noun: misrepresentation, distortion, caricatura, exaggeration; daubing; Verb: bad likeness, daub, sign painting; scratch, caricature; anamorphosis; burlesque, falsification, misstatement; parody, lampoon, take-off, travesty. | |
Ridicule | Satirize, parody, caricature, burlesque, travesty. |
Parody, burlesque, travesty, travestie; farce; (drama); caricature. | |
Adjective: derisory, derisive; mock, mocking; sarcastic, ironic, ironical, quizzical, burlesque, Hudibrastic; scurrilous; (disrespectful). | |
Ridiculousness | Farce, comedy; burlesque; (ridicule); buffoonery; (fun); frippery; doggerel verses; absurdity; bombast; (unmeaning); anticlimax, bathos; eccentricity, monstrosity; (unconformity); laughingstock. |
Extravagant, outre, monstrous, preposterous, bombastic, inflated, stilted, burlesque, mock heroic. | |
The Drama | Play, drama, stage play, piece, five-act play, tragedy, comedy, opera, vaudeville, comedietta, lever de rideau, interlude, afterpiece, exode, farce, divertissement, extravaganza, burletta, harlequinade, pantomime, burlesque, opera bouffe, ballet, spectacle, masque, drame comedie drame; melodrama, melodrame; comidie larmoyante, sensation drama; tragicomedy, farcical-comedy; monodrame monologue;duologue trilogy; charade, proverbs; mystery, miracle play; musical, musical comedy. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Burlesque |
| English words defined with "burlesque": Burlesqued, Burlesquing ♦ Heroicomical ♦ Intermede ♦ low comedy ♦ Pantagruelism ♦ Retiracy ♦ satyr play ♦ The five wits, top banana. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "burlesque": Beefington, BUDDHA ♦ Chronon-hoton-thologos ♦ Devil among the Tailors ♦ Figs ♦ Hurlo-Thrumbo ♦ King of Dalkey ♦ Orlando Innamorato ♦ Rigdum Funnidos. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "burlesque": Retiracy. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Burlesque" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. French (burlesque). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | That was our only burlesque house (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) What is the name of Chandler's father's all male burlesque review (Friends; writing credit: Jörn O. Jensen; Birger Larsen) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Art of Burlesque (1968) Black and White Burlesque (1960) Burlesque in Harlem (1954) I Was a Burlesque Queen (1953) Burlesque in Hawaii (1952) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Ernest Schelling and his colleagues with the "Follyphone" designed to burlesque the musical instruments of the day [...] / Cosmo, N.Y. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Margaret Gorman (Miss America 1921), and Stephen(?) Fegan being filmed for a burlesque on the burning of Rome by the Washington Producing Co. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Woman in burlesque costume in front of rocky outcrops. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Joe Weber's burlesque of The merry widow by arrangement with Henry W. Savage ; original music by Franz Lehar ; book by Geo. V. Hobart ; staged by Julian Mitchell. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Miss New York Jr. spectacular burlesque. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The famous Rentz Santley Novelty and Burlesque Co. first time in America : the sensational scene, gay life in Paris, introducing Jardine Mabile Dance. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Rentz Santley Burlesque Co. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Burlesque. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | J.E. Jackson burlesque B. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | British Blonde Burlesque Troupe. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "The Gayety" by Christie Ortiz Commentary: "I work in the adult district of downtown baltimore doing graphic design...the stretch of space isaffectionately referred to as "The Block" and this is a shot of the old burlesque theater across from us that now houses an adult bookstore & peep booths:)." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| "Burlesque" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 57.69% of the time. "Burlesque" is used about 26 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 57.69% | 15 | 90,616 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 34.62% | 9 | 117,287 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 3.85% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 3.85% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 26 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "burlesque"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | parodi (parody, skit, travesty), imitues (imitative, imitator, impersonator, mimetic, mimic, simulator), imitim (echo, imitation, impersonation, miming, mockery, simulation, take off), estradë (variety show). (various references) | |
Arabic | محاكاة (copying, echo, emulation, imitation, mimesis, mimicry, simulation), مضحك (buffoon, clown, comedian, comic, comical, comics, droll, farcical, foolish, funny, harlequin, humorous, jester, laughable, laughing, ludicrous, merry andrew, ridiculous, risible, silly, wag), هزلي (comic, comical, doggie, farcical, funny, humorous, joker, prankish, priceless, quizzical, waggish), قلد (affect, ape, copy, echo, fake, follow, imitate, inaugurate, mime, mimic, mock, parrot, present, send up, sham, simulate, vest), حاكى (copy, emulate, imitate, mimic, pattern, simulate, take off), سخرية (derision, fling, gibe, humor, humour, irony, jeer, lampoon, laughter, mockery, persiflage, quip, ridicule, rub, sarcasm, scoff, scorn, shy, snap, sneer, spoof, taunt, tee-hee, tehee, twit, wit), برنامج منوعات مسرحي خفيف. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | фарс (extravaganza, farce, interlude, mockery, quiz), карикатурен (caricature), карикатура (caricature, cartoon, send up, take off), бурлеска (extravaganza), представям в карикатурен вид, пародирам (mimic, parody), пародия (mimicry, mock, parody, put on, rib, send up, skit, take off, travesty), пародиен. (various references) | |
Czech | burleskní, burleska, parodistický, parodie (parody, skit, take off, takeoff, travesty). (various references) | |
Danish | karikatur (caricature). (various references) | |
Dutch | overdreven kunstuiting (caricature), karikatuur (caricature). (various references) | |
Farsi | مسخره امیز (Droll, Ridiculous), مضحک (Absurd, Comic, Droll, Grotesque, Hilarious, Laughable, Ludicrous, Preposterous, Ridiculous), تقلیدوهجوکردن , تقلید (Fake, Imitation, Mime, Mimicry), رقص لخت . (various references) | |
Finnish | irvokas (grotesque). (various references) | |
French | burlesque, parodier, parodie, charge (burden). (various references) | |
German | Posse (antic, buffoonery, farce), burlesk. (various references) | |
Greek | γελοιοποιώ (befool, ridicule, stultify), γελοία παράσταση, παρωδία (caricature, mockery, parody, send up, skit, travesty). (various references) | |
Hebrew | חקוי משעשע. (various references) | |
Hungarian | burleszk (skit), bohózat (low comedy, slap stick), bohóckodó (clownish, zany). (various references) | |
Indonesian | lucu (arch, comic, funny, gaga, jocular). (various references) | |
Italian | caricatura (caricature, cartoon). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 茶番狂言 (farce, low comedy), 茶番劇 (farce, low comedy), ハ長調 (bar, bar code, barbarism, barbecue, barbell, barber, barell, bargain, bargain sale, bargaining power, bartender, barter, base, Bayer, BBQ, Berkeley, berkelium, Berkley, Bermuda shorts, Bermuda Triangle, berth, bias, biathlon, bio, bio music, biochip, biocomputer, bioconversion, bioelectronics, bioethics, biofeedback, biogas, biography, biohazard, bioholonics, bioindustry, bioinfomatics, biomass, bionics, biopsy, bioreactor, biorhythm, bioscience, biosensor, biotechnology, biotelemetry, biotron, bird carving, bird sanctuary, bird watching, birdcall, birdie, Birmingham, birth, birth control, birthday, bourbon, Burberry, burger, burner, burn-out syndrome, burst, buying power, by, bye, C major, crowbar, Farbenfabriken Bayer Aktiengesellschaft, hair combed in stripes across a bald pate, old man who takes Viagra, scale, updating a software version, Vermont, vernier, verse, version, vertical marketing, violin, violinist, virgin, Virginia, virginity, virtual, virtual circuit, virtual reality), 戯け芝居 (comedy). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | おどけしばい (comedy), バーレスク , ちゃばんきょうげん (farce, low comedy), ちゃばんげき (farce, low comedy). (various references) | |
Manx | jannoo gannidys (banter, deride, jeer, sneer, sneering), craidoil (gibing, mocking, scornful), craidey mysh (deride, jeer, mock, scoff), craidaght (derision). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | urlesquebay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | burlesco (comic, comical, doggerel, facetious, farcical, laughable, ludicrous, mock, quizzical, ridiculous, simulated), ridicularizar (banter, belabor, belabour, bosh, deride, guy, lambaste, lampoon, laugh, make an ass of, mock, quiz, ridicule, scout), parodiar (parody), paródia (parody, skit, take-off, travesty), farsa (bunko, farce, lark), caricatura (cartoon, take-off, travesty), arremedar (imitate, mock, monkey, mum, parody, simulate). (various references) | |
Romanian | burlesc, ridiculiza (banter, guy, laugh, mock, ridicule, roast, stultify), parodie (caricature, mockery, parody, pastiche, travesty), parodia (mimic, mock, parody, travesty). (various references) | |
Russian | бурлеск. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | burleskni, burleska, lakrdijaški (farcical, zany), lakrdija (farce, harlequinade, jape, jest), farsa. (various references) | |
Spanish | burlesco (farcical, mock). (various references) | |
Swedish | burlesk, bondkomik, parodiera (parody, travesty). (various references) | |
Turkish | yerme (slander, vilification), vodvil (vaudeville), taklit ederek alay eden, taşlama (epigram, lampoon, satire, squib, stoning), striptizli ve taşlamalı gösteri, komik (amusing, comedian, comic, comical, droll, farcical, funny, funnyman, gilbertian, humorous, jesting, jocose, laugh, laughable, laughing, ludicrous, quizzical, rich, ridiculous, risible, rum, rummy), gülünç (amusing, camp, comic, derisive, derisory, droll, fantastic, fantastical, foolish, funny, gilbertian, grotesque, humorous, jesting, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous), alaylı taklit. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | жартівливий (gamesome, jesting, jocular, joky, playful, playsome, sportful, sportive, waggish), бурлеск, пародювати, пародія (parody, spoof, travesty). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | trò khôi hài (drollery, farce, mockery), trò hài hước sự chế giễu, khôi hài (buffi, buffo, comical, droll, humorous, jocose, priceless, ragtime), hài hước (comic, comical). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | burra. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "burlesque": burlesqued, burlesquely, burlesquer, burlesquers, burlesques. (additional references) | |
| |
"Burlesque" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: berlesque, Biblique, Brulisau, burleque, Burlesca, burlesco, Burlesk, burleske, nurglesque. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "burlesque" (pronounced berle"sk) |
| 3 | -e" s k | desk, grotesque, statuesque. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-e-e-l-q-r-s-u-u" | |
-2 letters: brusque, queuers, subrule. | |
-3 letters: queers, queuer, queues, rebels, rubles, sequel. | |
-4 letters: beers, bluer, blues, blurs, brees, burls, burse, leers, lubes, lures, queer, queue, rebel, rebus, reels, reuse, rubes, ruble, rubus, rules, slurb, suber, usque. | |
-5 letters: beer, bees, bels, blue, blur, bree, burl, burs, eels, else, leer, lees, lube, lues, lure, rebs, reel, rees, rube. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-e-e-l-q-r-s-u-u" | |
+1 letter: burlesqued, burlesquer, burlesques. | |
+2 letters: burlesquely, burlesquers. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
