sight gag
noun
: a comic bit or episode whose effect is produced by pantomime or camera shot rather than by words
Examples of sight gag in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The closing stretch is interminable: a grating display of misanthropic excess, with two jejune sight gags (one of which can only be described as a grave violation) that speak less to a sociopath’s psychology than a filmmaker’s self-intoxication.
—
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
In 2001, the movie Zoolander included a sight gag about Zoolander’s stupidly tiny flip phone, which was a nod to the fact that at the time — not so long after the first, brick-like phones had hit the market — a smaller phone was seen as more high-tech, and was therefore generally trendier.
—Mirel Zaman, refinery29.com, 22 July 2021
Why treat the eagle attack on Bug as a jump scare instead of a sight gag?
—cleveland, 17 Aug. 2023
The sight gag recalls a famous recurring joke in Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which the knights ride fake horses while their squires hit coconuts together behind them to imitate horses’ feet.
—Time, 21 July 2023
As a springboard for sight gags, however, such eccentricity has its purposes.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
In fact, that goes for any story about cannabis in the U.S. — money has always been lurking in the background, like a sight gag in a Cheech & Chong movie.
—Longreads, 20 Apr. 2023
Amid all the whooshing, though, try to hold on to the image of that circle, which isn’t the easiest thing to do amid all the sights and sounds, frenzied fight scenes and grotesque sight gags that Daniels — a.k.a.
—Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2023
That sight gag would’ve suited Beau better.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Apr. 2023
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Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
In 2001, the movie Zoolander included a sight gag about Zoolander’s stupidly tiny flip phone, which was a nod to the fact that at the time — not so long after the first, brick-like phones had hit the market — a smaller phone was seen as more high-tech, and was therefore generally trendier.
—Mirel Zaman, refinery29.com, 22 July 2021
Why treat the eagle attack on Bug as a jump scare instead of a sight gag?
—cleveland, 17 Aug. 2023
The sight gag recalls a famous recurring joke in Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which the knights ride fake horses while their squires hit coconuts together behind them to imitate horses’ feet.
—Time, 21 July 2023
As a springboard for sight gags, however, such eccentricity has its purposes.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
In fact, that goes for any story about cannabis in the U.S. — money has always been lurking in the background, like a sight gag in a Cheech & Chong movie.
—Longreads, 20 Apr. 2023
Amid all the whooshing, though, try to hold on to the image of that circle, which isn’t the easiest thing to do amid all the sights and sounds, frenzied fight scenes and grotesque sight gags that Daniels — a.k.a.
—Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2023
That sight gag would’ve suited Beau better.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sight gag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1949, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sight gag
Cite this Entry
“Sight gag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sight%20gag. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.
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