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by-play

American  
[bahy-pley] / ˈbaɪˌpleɪ /
Or byplay

noun

  1. an action or speech carried on to the side while the main action proceeds, especially on the stage.


by-play British  

noun

  1. secondary action or talking carried on apart while the main action proceeds, esp in a play

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of by-play

First recorded in 1805–15

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.

Except that the man in the middle of the latest Concacaf shenanigans, the unfortunate Mark Geiger, is not one of the usual suspects in the kind of by-play that the confederation has been associated with in recent years.

From The Guardian

To offset this, I’d dream up a Yankee and/or Giant game and channel the play–by-play call after Bob Sheppard’s introductions and the national anthem.

From New York Times

Between these teams, the by-play, the needles, the paybacks, are building.

From Washington Post

Hodgson got the open part of the session under way with a swift clap of the hands and an arm around Raheem Sterling before a piece of by-play with Sir Trevor Brooking as he walked laps of the training pitch.

From BBC

As in Beaumarchais's play, Cherubino is always played by a woman, emphasising his boyish tenderness, but also giving scope for much comic by-play with cross-dressing the boy-who-is-really-a-girl, which works as well today as it did then.

From The Guardian