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variety show

variety show

11 3.4
A show made of different short acts like songs, dances, and jokes
  • noun
  • /vəˈraɪəti ʃoʊ/
translation icon : espectáculo de variedades
  • Quickstock is a geek variety show that Wil Wheaton and Paul and Storm and I have been putting on for four years.
  • variety show and comedy
  • television variety show
  • live variety show

But it was a variety show of talk and entertainment.

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Examples

  • We all worked hard to make it the best Senior Variety Show ever.

  • Welcome to everyone's favorite variety show, the Gotham Palace.

  • Throughout high school and college, we had variety shows and events with cool names.

  • But it was a variety show of talk and entertainment.

  • See you tonight on everyone's favorite variety show.

  • The United Service Organizations produced a variety show that toured several times a year in the Far East.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The Saja Boys have gone completely viral after that variety show.

  • So he gave me a part in his variety show and I came out and I'm singing this song and the audience is hysterical.

  • It was a variety show in which the talent was singing, dancing, telling jokes, doing skits.

  • The talent competition included a lively variety show featuring singers, dancers, and comedians.

Synonyms

show
vsvariety show
1.0

An event like a play or concert that people watch

is the narrow entertainment format made of brief unrelated performances
variety
vsvariety show
88 4.8

An entertainment show with many different acts like songs and comedy

is the fuller phrase rather than the shorter label
vaudeville
vsvariety show
  • Archaic
23 9.5

A live show with many short acts like songs and comedy

is the same mixed act program without the historical time restriction
program
vsvariety show
  • US
18 2.1

A set of live performances like music or dance for an audience

is the specific type consisting of short unrelated acts by various artists
revue
vsvariety show
  • Archaic
18 8.6

A stage show of short songs, dances and comedy sketches that often makes fun of current events

is the general series of unrelated acts rather than a themed satirical show
floor show
vsvariety show
4 4.2

Live music, dance, or comedy acts in clubs and restaurants

is a general entertainment program not limited to specific venues

How Varied

variety show
11 3.4
revue
  • Archaic
18 8.6
themed
55 3.9
to solo
3 4.2

Surface Forms

variety show singular
variety shows plural

Morphology

variety + show

The meaning is directly derivable from 'variety' (a range or assortment of different things) + 'show' (a staged event); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a show made up of different acts. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g., 'espectáculo de variedades', 'spectacle de variétés'), so the expression is transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Variety show comes from old stage entertainment where a variety, many different kinds, of short acts like singers, dancers, comedians and magicians were put into one show. That's why it means 'a program made of several different short, unrelated performances'.