comedy of errors
2
5.8
- noun
- /ˈkɒmədi əv ˈɛrərz/
- Informal
:
comedia de errores
- Through a comedy of errors, I didn't know I'd graduated, and they sent my diploma in the mail.
So if I say that there's a comedy of errors, there's a tragedy of errors.
- So if I say that there's a comedy of errors, there's a tragedy of errors.
- I can't even call it just a comedy of errors, really.
Examples
-
The event turned into a real comedy of errors when the speaker forgot their notes and the projector wouldn't work.
-
Once home, I decided a dance party in the kitchen with Laura was just what I needed to shake off this comedy of errors morning.
Blog text (26) -
The whole affair of the James Ossuary was in danger of becoming a comedy of errors.
Academic text (2003) -
Thus, even a sincere attempt to improve performance can deteriorate into a "comedy of errors."
Academic text (1996) -
The whole thing would be a comedy of errors if it weren't such a tragedy.
Blog text (30) -
The real-life frustration due to technical errors became sheer comedy of errors.
Blog text (5) -
The comedy of errors began with CIA Director Leon Panetta reporting that there is a high probability that Hosni Mubarak would step down yesterday.
Blog text (12) -
With my usual perspective, I saw this ludicrous comedy of errors being performed by innocents who were always finding themselves chastised by their regular habits and their inability to see beyond the moment.
Fiction book (1995) -
What was meant to be a smooth wedding ceremony quickly became a comedy of errors with misplaced rings and a broken sound system.
-
After several miscommunications and scheduling mistakes, the project became a comedy of errors that left everyone frustrated.
Synonyms
76
6.2
A complete embarrassing failure that happens suddenly and causes big problems
64
5.3
A funny play with exaggerated, impossible situations and silly acting
A clumsy way of working that makes repeated mistakes
A comedy with silly impossible situations and loud physical jokes
A situation of complete disorder and failure
In a state of complete confusion because of a mistake or bad planning
Antonyms
How Chaotic
∞
1.0
- Informal
2
5.8
62
3.4
15
4.1
6
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'comedy' (a humorous event) composed 'of errors' (mistakes) yields a humorous or chaotic situation caused by mistakes. This noun-of-noun composition follows a straightforward, cross-linguistically common logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Comedy of errors comes from a play by William Shakespeare called 'The Comedy of Errors', where two sets of twins get mixed up and a chain of silly mistakes creates funny chaos. That's why today people say Comedy of errors for 'a situation with many big mistakes'.