pantomime

pantomime — 名詞

1. a British comic stage show, full of songs, dance and silly jokes, that retells a

1.名詞C1
釋義

聖誕童話劇

英國聖誕節演出的童話喜劇歌舞秀

a British comic stage show, full of songs, dance and silly jokes, that retells a famous fairy tale such as Cinderella and is put on for families around Christmas.

例句

Every December, the Mason family books seats at the local pantomime in Brighton.

每年十二月，Mason 一家都會訂位看 Brighton 當地的英式聖誕童話劇。

British cultural noun: 'the pantomime' as a Christmas family outing

This year's pantomime at the Hackney Empire is a noisy, joyful version of Cinderella.

今年 Hackney Empire 的聖誕童話劇是熱鬧又歡樂的灰姑娘版本。

typical structure: pantomime + based on a fairy tale

同義詞
  • panto

    informal British shortening, used in everyday talk

  • Christmas show

    broader, less specific to the British fairy-tale format

用法筆記

Subject is normally a UK theatre, family or school. Often shortened to 'panto' in everyday British speech. Used with the definite article when speaking of the cultural tradition: 'go to the pantomime'.

常見錯誤

❌My American friends watch pantomime every Christmas in Texas.
✅My British friends watch pantomime every Christmas in London.
💡this sense is specific to UK theatre culture; Americans do not typically know this tradition.

2. a way of telling a story or showing an idea using only the body, hands and face,

2.名詞C1
釋義

默劇；啞劇

用身體和表情、不出聲說故事的表演

a way of telling a story or showing an idea using only the body, hands and face, without speaking; also a single performance done in this style.

例句

The street performers told the story of a lost child entirely through pantomime.

街頭表演者完全用默劇講出一個小孩走失的故事。

uncountable: pantomime as an art form

Lina watched her grandfather's pantomime and laughed when he pretended to climb a tall ladder.

Lina 看著爺爺的默劇表演，看到他假裝爬上長梯時笑了出來。

countable: a single pantomime performance

同義詞
  • mime

    near-synonym; 'mime' is more common for the silent-acting art form

  • dumb show

    older literary term for a wordless dramatic scene

反義詞
  • speech

    the verbal channel that pantomime deliberately avoids

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about wordless performance technique, NOT the British Christmas play (which has plenty of singing and shouting). The British Christmas show is also called pantomime, but does include speech and music.

常見錯誤

❌The actor used a pantomime of his hands to ask for water.
✅The actor used pantomime to ask for water.
💡for the technique, treat it as uncountable; no article needed.

pantomime — 動詞