the show must go on
the show must go on phrase: regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons.
Phrase
the show must go on
- Regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons.
- Two other very personal issues that Holly discloses are her ongoing struggle to maintain a weight she feels comfortable with, and her virtual breakdown from exhaustion in 1984. Her "the show must go on" martyrdom attitude was painful to read, for her stress-related problems demonstrate the irony...1990 December 9, Maida Tilchen, “Closer To Near”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 14
- One must finish what one has started; things must continue no matter what.
Origin of the show must go on
Originated in the 19th-century circus industry.
Questions about the show must go on
- What does the show must go on mean?
- The show must go on means regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons.
- What part of speech is the show must go on?
- The show must go on is a phrase.
Words near the show must go on in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: the show must go on (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-the show must go on.ogg.
Cite this entry: “the show must go on.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_show_must_go_on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.