基本释义
[noun] a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations
[名词] 滑稽剧
深入解读
Farce 是一个与之前推送过的 scarce 有着相同结尾的单词。该词源自拉丁语 farcire (装满、塞满,同 cram )。
话说在13到14世纪时,欧洲教堂在吟诵经文之间经常插入一些解说或激励人的话语。这种经文中本没有而另外塞入的话语就被称为 farce 。
后来随着宗教喜剧的流行,演员们在表演剧目时,常把一些当地近期发生的新闻作为素材插入到戏剧中进行插科打诨。进而就开始用 farce 引申指这类插科打诨的内容,并进一步发展出现在的主要含义“滑稽剧、闹剧、笑剧”,以及指“滑稽剧体裁(the genre of farce)”,即一种使用滑稽和恶作剧表演的喜剧作品,通常包含粗俗的人物刻画和荒谬不可能的场景。
从滑稽剧荒诞可笑并且表演夸张的概念出发, farce 随后就被用来引申指“闹剧、荒唐的事情”或者说“可笑的行为或情景”,主要指本应严肃却变得明显荒谬且无意义的行为、事件或情况,常意味着混乱或不公正,使人无法认真对待,比如:
- 这次审判完全是一场闹剧。约翰谋杀了他爱张扬的妻子,但以精神错乱为由逃脱了惩罚。
The trial was a complete farce. John murdered his flamboyant wife, but got off on a plea of insanity.
外刊例句
- There is also a hint of Pythonesque farce about it.
它还带有点巨蟒滑稽剧的味道。
——《经济学人》
- I chose not to participate in this farce.
我选择不参与这场闹剧。
——《纽约时报》
单词历史
farce闹剧
该词指以不切实际的荒诞情节构成的幽默剧。它源自中世纪,当时人们做礼拜祷告时会插入“恳求主怜悯我们”之类的短语。这类短语被称作farsa或farcia,源自拉丁语farcire(填充)。forcemeat(加料碎肉)是现代英语中有关烹饪的术语,从该词中我们可以看到farce的变化形式。后来,宗教剧的正文中也插入了短笑话。这种简短而幽默的添加部分衍变成一部完整的戏剧,戏剧中充满了不现实、荒诞的情节。推而广之,该词指异常混乱和可笑的事情。
英语词源
farce:闹剧,宗教仪式或戏剧中临时插入的内容
在13、14世纪,在欧洲的教堂仪式中,常在吟诵经文之间插入一些解说或激励人的话语,这些经文中没有、另外插入的话语就被称为 farce 。该词来自拉丁语 farcire ,本意是“插入、填充”。宗教戏剧流行后,在表演传统剧目时,演员往往会将当地最近发生的新闻作为素材,插入到戏剧中进行插科打诨。这种用来插科打诨的内容也被称为 farce 。由于这种 farce 往往是滑稽可笑的,表演时特别夸张,因此 farce 就产生了“闹剧、胡闹”的含义。
与 farce 同源的单词还有 infarct (梗塞)、 infarction 等单词。
- farce:[fɑːs] n. 闹剧,笑剧,胡闹
- infarct:[‘ɪnfɑːkt; ɪn’fɑːkt] n. 梗塞,梗死
- infarction:[ɪn’fɑːkʃ(ə)n] n. 梗塞,梗死
深度学习
farce (FARSE) A farce is a comic play characterized by improbable but humorous elements. By extension, the word can describe anything so absurd as to be laughable, whether by its humor or the fact that it makes a mockery, a joke, of an undertaking. (And isn’t it a little bit funny that the origin of this word means “seasoned stuffing”?)
- The French farce featured three swinging doors, a trapdoor, and four windows: characters repeatedly missed each other by seconds, causing the audience to roar harder each time.
- “Student government at Montrose High is farcical,” complained Annemarie. “Kids just run for office so they can list it on their college applications.”
——摘自《Fiske WordPower: The Most Effective System for Building a Vocabulary That Gets Results Fast》
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闹剧(FARSE)闹剧是一种以不可思议但幽默的元素为特征的喜剧。推而广之,这个词可以描述任何荒谬到可笑的事情,无论是因为它的幽默,还是因为它是对一项事业的嘲弄、玩笑。(这个词的起源意思是“调味馅料”,这不是有点有趣吗?)
- 这场法国闹剧有三扇摆动的门、一扇活板门和四扇窗户:剧中人物多次以秒为单位错过对方,导致观众每次都更加咆哮
- Annemarie抱怨道:“蒙特罗斯高中的学生政府太滑稽了。”。“孩子们只是为了竞选公职,所以他们可以在大学申请表上列出。”
[/toggle]
常见短语
“farce“(闹剧,滑稽剧)是一个名词,通常用来形容一种荒谬、可笑或荒诞的情景、事件或表演。以下是一些包含单词 “farce” 的短语,附带中文解释:
- Political farce(政治闹剧)
- Theatrical farce(戏剧滑稽剧)
- Absurd farce(荒谬闹剧)
- farce of errors(错误的闹剧)
- Satirical farce(讽刺性闹剧)
- farce of misunderstandings(误解的闹剧)
- farce of incompetence(无能的闹剧)
- Hilarious farce(滑稽可笑的闹剧)
- farce of deception(欺骗的闹剧)
- farce of bureaucracy(官僚主义的闹剧)
- Political election farce(政治选举闹剧)
- Comedic farce(喜剧性闹剧)
- farce of miscommunication(误传的闹剧)
- farce of absurdity(荒诞的闹剧)
- farce of mistaken identities(错误身份的闹剧)
- farce of incompetence(无能的闹剧)
- farce of misunderstandings(误解的闹剧)
- farce of errors(错误的闹剧)
- farce of deception(欺骗的闹剧)
- farce of bureaucracy(官僚主义的闹剧)
- Political election farce(政治选举闹剧)
- Comedic farce(喜剧性闹剧)
- farce of miscommunication(误传的闹剧)
- farce of absurdity(荒诞的闹剧)
- farce of mistaken identities(错误身份的闹剧)
- farce of confusion(混乱的闹剧)
- The farce of life(人生闹剧)
- farce of pretense(假装的闹剧)
- Corporate farce(企业闹剧)
- farce of bureaucracy(官僚主义的闹剧)
- farce of political maneuvering(政治策略的闹剧)
- farce of hidden agendas(隐藏动机的闹剧)
- farce of social norms(社会规范的闹剧)
- farce of absurd situations(荒谬情境的闹剧)
- farce of power struggles(权力斗争的闹剧)
- farce of reality TV(真人秀的闹剧)
- farce of diplomatic negotiations(外交谈判的闹剧)
- farce of romantic misunderstandings(浪漫误解的闹剧)
- farce of celebrity scandals(名人丑闻的闹剧)
- farce of cultural clashes(文化冲突的闹剧)
- farce of bureaucratic red tape(官僚红色磁带的闹剧)
- farce of technological mishaps(技术故障的闹剧)
- farce of family dynamics(家庭关系的闹剧)
- farce of reality distortion(现实扭曲的闹剧)
- farce of mistaken assumptions(错误假设的闹剧)
- farce of theatrical improvisation(戏剧即兴的闹剧)
- farce of misunderstandings(误解的闹剧)
- farce of political posturing(政治做姿态的闹剧)
- farce of celebrity antics(名人滑稽动作的闹剧)
- farce of romantic escapades(浪漫奇遇的闹剧)
同近义词
parody: an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect
caricature: a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect
travesty: a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something