pastiche
Americannoun
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a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
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an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.
noun
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a work of art that mixes styles, materials, etc
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a work of art that imitates the style of another artist or period
Etymology
Origin of pastiche
1700–10; < French < Italian pasticcio pasticcio
Explanation
The next time you see a movie that you think is a cheap imitation of an older, better movie, you can sound like a film critic by dismissing the picture as a thoughtless pastiche. A pastiche is an artwork that copies the style of another work or that combines various, distinct styles together into one work. A pastiche can also be a musical medley, or the piecing together of various songs. Pastiche comes from the Italian word pasticcio, which can refer to a pie containing a mix of ingredients, such as meat and pasta.
Vocabulary lists containing pastiche
Poetry: Literary Devices
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Blink
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is valet parking and the hotel’s French-leaning restaurant Pastiche serves a good breakfast.
From New York Times • Oct. 10, 2019
Pastiche melds the critic to the love object and creates intimate, meaning-driven analysis.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2018
Pastiche and quotation are woven into the concept of the work, but they need better framing.
From Washington Post • Jul. 12, 2015
Pastiche it may be, but it's also pretty astonishing for a teenage composition.
From The Guardian • Apr. 22, 2010
Pastiche is not a means to an end but the whole point of this enterprise.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
