burlesques

Noun

burlesque (countable and uncountable, plural burlesques)

1. A derisive art form that mocks by imitation; a parody.
   • Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accoutrements of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people.1711 December 25 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, December 15, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 249; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a...

   Synonyms:

   lampoon, travesty

2. A variety adult entertainment show, usually including titillation such as striptease, most common from the 1880s to the 1930s.
3. A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion.
   • Who is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute?1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   imitation, caricature

See all 6 meanings of burlesque