dumb show

American  

noun

1. a part of a dramatic representation given in pantomime, common in early English drama.

2. gestures without speech.

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dumb show British  

noun

1. a part of a play acted in pantomime, popular in early English drama

2. meaningful gestures; mime

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Other Word Forms

• dumb-show adjective

Etymology

Origin of dumb show

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

It might, however, be just the dumb show necessary to capture dumb times.

From New York Times

A ceremony followed, in dumb show, in which it was easy to recognise the pantomime of a marriage.

From Literature

Billions, the labyrinthine drama about a shady hedge-fund investor and the shady district attorney on his tail, is by far and away the smartest dumb show on TV.

From The Guardian

Now there was nothing left of the dumb show by the fountain beyond what survived in memory, in three separate and overlapping memories.

From Literature

But Key is weirdly asked in the dumb show prelude of “The Mousetrap” to do some physical comedy that might have been too ludicrous for his “Key and Peele” comedy show.

From Los Angeles Times