[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/slapstick/)

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# slapstick

noun (slapstick — uncountable); adjective (slapstick comedy)

«slapstick» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A kind of comedy with funny falls, crashes, chases, custard pies and silly fights where nobody is really hurt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#m1)
2. As an adjective: slapstick humour, a slapstick film. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#m2)

### In the lessons

A word for humour in films, plays and pantomimes. Clowns, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and many cartoons use slapstick. Toad's crashes with motor cars and his flight from the barge-woman in The Wind in the Willows read like slapstick. The name comes from a real stick of two flat pieces of wood that made a loud slap on stage without hurting.

### Examples

- The pantomime was full of slapstick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x1)
- The clown slipped on a banana skin — classic slapstick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x2)
- My little brother laughs at slapstick cartoons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x3)
- Slapstick comedy doesn't need words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x4)
- The film had lots of slapstick chases. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x5)
- Don't copy slapstick stunts at home; real falls hurt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/#x6)

### Note

Usually uncountable. Safety note: in slapstick the falls are planned by trained actors; in real life such falls cause injuries.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «slapstick» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slapstick/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«slapstick» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/slapstick.html) on Mova free.