See Also: pantomime(dictionary)
pantomime(dictionary)
mime and pantomime(encyclopedia)

pantomime (iou)



pantomime noun, adjective, & verb. Also (earlier) in Latin form pantomimus, pl. -mimi. L16.
[French, or Latin pantomimus from Greek pantomimos adjective & noun: see PANTO-, MIME.]
A. noun.
Hist. A mimic actor, esp. in ancient Rome; a person who expressed meaning through gesture and action without words. L16.
A dramatic entertainment in which performers express meaning through gestures accompanied by music. M17.
A traditional theatrical performance, orig. in mime, now consisting of a dramatized fairy tale or nursery story, with music, dancing, topical jokes, and conventional characters, freq. played by actors of the opposite sex from the characters, chiefly performed in Britain around Christmas. M18.
Times Literary Supplement The annual pantomime..opens on boxing day. Guardian Last Christmas he was back on stage in pantomime in Manchester.
b. fig. An absurd or outrageous piece of behaviour. colloq. M20.
I. Murdoch He waved his camera case rhythmically and clapped his hands...Dora stared at this pantomime.
(A) significant gesture without speech; (a) mime. L18.
H. Keller She drops the signs and pantomime she used before, as soon as she has words.
b. adjective. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of (a) pantomime. M18.
Mail on Sunday One of the greatest pantomime artists I ever saw. Independent The pantomime horse would distract the players by galloping across the stage.
C. verb.
verb intrans. Express oneself in mime. Also, behave as though in a pantomime. M18.
J. Updike Van Horne..pantomimed with his uncanny hands.
verb trans. Express or represent by pantomime. M19.
pantomimist noun a person who writes or acts in a pantomime. M19.