minstrel show
3
9.9
- noun
- /ˈmɪnstrəl ʃoʊ/
- Offensive
:
[ofensivo] espectáculo en 'blackface'
- Two weeks later, and perhaps entirely by coincidence, the Elks Club of Lake City hosted a blackface minstrel show and urged attendees to "lay aside your worries and enjoy the occasion."
- blackface minstrel show
- minstrel show entertainment
- minstrel show performer
And that shit came from a minstrel show, man.
- And that shit came from a minstrel show, man.
Examples
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Before the Civil War, there were at least a half-dozen minstrel shows staged by genuine blacks.
Academic text (2014) -
The first blues musicians to become popular were black and white women singers born between 1880 and 1900 who appeared in vaudeville and as part of touring minstrel shows.
Academic text (2010) -
The show we are doing is a minstrel show.
-
Now, I know you are familiar with minstrel shows.
-
People in my area of the country thought of minstrel shows as good family entertainment.
Blog text (7) -
After the Civil War, blacks staged minstrel shows in ever-increasing numbers.
Academic text (2014) -
Small wonder that American audiences took the minstrel show to its bosom and made it a whopping success!
Academic text (1990) -
The societies also sponsored lectures, minstrel shows, and band concerts in an effort to recreate the ambience of the saloon, only without the drinking.
Academic text (1990) -
Popular literature, newspaper caricatures, minstrel shows, and vaudeville depicted blacks as a race of buffoons and half-wits.
Blog text (23) -
In the 19th century, a minstrel show featured performers in blackface who entertained audiences with humorous songs and dances.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
An event like a play or concert that people watch
23
9.5
A live show with many short acts like songs and comedy
11
3.4
A show made of different short acts like songs, dances, and jokes
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'minstrel' (a performer associated historically with blackface caricature) combined with 'show' (a staged entertainment) yields 'a show featuring minstrels.' The 'X show' pattern is a regular, transparent noun-compound construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can infer the MWE's referent (though full cultural and historical connotations may require extra background).
Etymology
Minstrel show comes from 19th-century American stage shows where performers called minstrels wore 'blackface' and acted, sang, and danced to make fun of Black people. Because these acts used harmful 'stereotypes', today the term refers to that kind of entertainment and is seen as wrong and hurtful.