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slapstick |
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slapstickComedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to strike another. Slapstick comedy became popular in 19th-century music halls and vaudeville theatres and was carried into the 20th century by silent-movie comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops and later by Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, and the Three Stooges. slapstick 1. a. comedy characterized by horseplay and physical action b. (as modifier): slapstick humour 2. a flexible pair of paddles bound together at one end, formerly used in pantomime to strike a blow to a person with a loud clapping sound but without injury |
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She is a good match for the energetic Stephanie Plum, who slapsticks her way through detection and crime fighting no matter how many of her cars are blown up or employers' businesses she burns down. |
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