Definition of SLAPSTICKY

Did You Know?

The idea that knocking people about made for good comedy dates as far back as the Greco-Roman theater, where clowns rambunctiously "attacked" one another onstage. The object from which the word slapstick derives, however, was invented in Italy in the 16th century. Renaissance comedy typically featured stock characters placed in ridiculous situations, and one such ubiquitous character was Harlequin, whose brilliant costuming made him easily recognizable. Harlequin was given to wielding a paddle which was designed to make a terrible noise when he hit someone, usually to the delight of the audience. This paddle was eventually known in English as a "slapstick," and it became a symbol of that type of highly physical comedy. The word slapstick then came to refer to the comedy itself.

Examples of slapstick in a Sentence

an actor whose roles range from slapstick to serious drama a lowbrow comedy that relies heavily on slapstick for its laughs

Recent Examples on the Web

The league’s hard-hitting, cinematic matches stand in stark contrast to the more soapy and slapstick television product that the premier U.S. wrestling group, World Wrestling Entertainment, puts out. — Adam Abdalla, Dallas News, "New Japan Pro-Wrestling makes its live Dallas debut tonight — and you can thank Mark Cuban for it," 6 July 2019 For him, this is all much deeper than slapstick comedy. — Nate Hochman, National Review, "Sacha Baron Cohen’s Tired Elitist Shtick," 25 June 2019 Luigi’s Mansion 3 is pure slapstick, and there just aren’t enough games like that. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "Even without Animal Crossing, Nintendo has an incredible holiday lineup," 12 June 2019 Woody’s signature rag doll slapstick comedy is in full swing, from the cowboy flailing atop an angry cat running in circles, to getting his face stepped on by Bonnie’s dad, to flinging his limbs every which way to keep Forky in check. — Kelsea Stahler, refinery29.com, "Toy Story 4 Isn't Perfect, But It Will Fork Its Way Right Into Your Heart," 15 June 2019 Hackett made room for humor, including a little slapstick. — Mark Swed, latimes.com, "Opera UCLA proves Susan B. Anthony, more than ever, remains 'The Mother of Us All'," 21 May 2018 This is a smart series that combines slapstick humor and witty dialogue with cutting-edge science and the odd literary reference. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "The Orville blends science fiction and science fact into a winning mix," 29 Dec. 2018 There were no bright, flashy, fast-moving cartoons or slapstick humor in his neighborhood; just simple, direct conversation and storytelling. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "The 11 best documentaries of 2018," 5 Dec. 2018 Migo has a stock set of wacky sidekicks (voiced by Zendaya, LeBron James, Gina Rodriquez and Ely Henry) who provide moments of bland, broad slapstick but little else. — Brent Mcknight, The Seattle Times, "‘Smallfoot’: Cute animated adventure walks a predictable path," 25 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'slapstick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.