by-play
or by·play
an action or speech carried on to the side while the main action proceeds, especially on the stage.
Origin of by-play
1Words Nearby by-play
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use by-play in a sentence
It will be the shocking play-by-play from inside the death chambers.
The Supreme Court Will Never Kill the Death Penalty, Even With Botched Executions | Mike Sacks | May 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWatch commentator Chris Webber make brilliant use of the telestrator, with a play-by-play of ice cream defense.
Lindsay Lohan, Lil Wayne, Social Farting & More Viral Videos | The Daily Beast Video | March 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut for these two puerile sports fans, the evening was almost as much about the play-by-play as how things turned out.
Forget the Electoral College—Who Won the Battle of the Neckties? | Blake Gopnik | November 8, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTEven worse, the two doulas next to me were in the midst of a loud-whispered play-by-play of what was going on on the screen.
The ingenuity of writers was ransacked to furnish material for this spirited by-play.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian Sharman
Her acting is said to have been characterised by great judgment, while her by-play was remarkably effective.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel WilliamsThe excellence of Adrienne's delivery was equalled, if not surpassed, by her really wonderful by-play.
Queens of the French Stage | H. Noel WilliamsThis little by-play took place when all the lamps of the salon were fully lighted.
Mysterious Psychic Forces | Camille FlammarionSmilingly, and evidently untroubled by the recent by-play between the cowboy and Mary, she replied in the negative.
The Phantom Town Mystery | Carol Norton
British Dictionary definitions for by-play
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
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