Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In a play, action carried on aside, and commonly in dumb show, while the main action proceeds; action not intended to be observed by some of the persons present.
- noun A diversion; something apart from the main purpose.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Action carried on aside, and commonly in dumb show, while the main action proceeds.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun theater Any
action , carried outonstage during aperformance , apart from the mainaction .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic effect
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Another Like You," a politically charged duet with singer Cary Ann Hearst, rivals the jousting byplay of John Prine and Iris Dement's "In Spite of Ourselves."
Album review: Hayes Carll's "KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)" Post 2011
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The White House, Situation Room, interagency byplay, as important as they are, are not everything.
Backstage Drama Max Boot 2010
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After his opening remarks, frequently some byplay with Hank teasing the band about everything from their haircuts to how sleepy they all were at 7 a.m.,
Hank Williams: The Working Musician, The Creative Genius 2010
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Wise creates just the right mood of simmering hostility via some pointed Gable/Lancaster byplay and various telling incidents with the crew, which includes a young Jack Warden and Brad Dexter.
John Farr: Clark Gable: King of Hollywood John Farr 2012
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After his opening remarks, frequently some byplay with Hank teasing the band about everything from their haircuts to how sleepy they all were at 7 a.m.,
Hank Williams: The Working Musician, The Creative Genius 2010
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After his opening remarks, frequently some byplay with Hank teasing the band about everything from their haircuts to how sleepy they all were at 7 a.m.,
Hank Williams: The Working Musician, The Creative Genius 2010
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One has the cringing sense that Ms. Zanganeh is trying to imitate Nabokov himself, who was given to minutely observed descriptive prose and who opened his famous novel with phonetic byplay.
The Trouble With Ardor Alexander Theroux 2011
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They're watching for Baker and his byplay with the suspects and co-star Robin Tunney — and for a show that, while not a great drama, is a terrific antidote to tough times.
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After his opening remarks, frequently some byplay with Hank teasing the band about everything from their haircuts to how sleepy they all were at 7 a.m.,
Hank Williams: The Working Musician, The Creative Genius 2010
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"In many ways a more subdued Todd, with many earmarks of a classic village mystery and less byplay from Hamish, the ghost who haunts Rutledge."
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