drop cloth
- noun
- /drɒp klɔθ/
- Specialized
:
telón
- The director asked the crew to lower the drop cloth to reveal the stunning backdrop for the play.
Examples
-
Fell walks up to the image displayed on the drop cloth; Pazzi walks behind him.
Fiction book (2001) -
An art slide appears on the drop cloth.
Fiction book (2001) -
A slide machine is showing a painting of a hanged figure on a huge drop cloth at the back of the salon.
Fiction book (2001) -
As the lights dimmed, the drop cloth was raised, showcasing the beautiful scenery designed for the production.
-
During the rehearsal, the actors practiced their lines in front of the drop cloth that framed the stage.
Synonyms
80
3.9
A painted cloth or scene at the back of a stage showing where the story happens
13
4.6
A piece of cloth like a curtain that hangs in loose folds
6
7.1
A large painted curtain lowered onto a stage as a background
A large curtain hung above the stage that lowers to make background scenery
A large heavy cloth that hides the stage and opens or closes for a show
A large cloth that hangs at the back of a stage as scenery
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally interpretable: 'drop' evokes falling droplets (e.g., paint) and 'cloth' is a textile, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a cloth used to catch or protect from drops during painting. This construction is a straightforward descriptive compound found across languages, so its meaning is readily derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun drop cloth comes from the theater practice of lowering a large painted cloth onto the stage. People would literally 'drop' the cloth to make a new scene, so it now means 'a large curtain' that is lowered and raised as a stage background.