fright wig

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noun

a wig of wild, unruly hair, especially hair projecting outward in all directions, as worn by some clowns and comedians to give a comic effect of extreme fright or excitement.

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Origin of fright wig

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby fright wig

frighten, frightened, frightener, frightful, frightfully, fright wig, frigid, Frigidaire, frigidarium, frigidity, frigidoreceptor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fright wig in a sentence

One guy hams it up as Juliet, blonde wig and all, as a crowd gathers, delighted by the impromptu performance.
Biking With the Bard|Kara Cutruzzula|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lena, Emilia, and I are laughing because we sorted the wig thing out nice and early.
Natalie Dormer Talks ‘Hunger Games,’ Feminism, and Why ‘Game of Thrones’ Needs More Dick|Marlow Stern|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He gave us a little orphan girl in a red wig belting “Tomorrow.”
Out of the Birdcage: How Mike Nichols Made Gay Culture Mainstream|Kevin Fallon|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She arrived in court the next day wearing a platinum blonde wig, as if Cousin It had dressed as Malibu Barbie for Halloween.
The Amanda Bynes Train Wreck Is Back Again, Following a New DUI Arrest|Kevin Fallon|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When the music gets going, the woman in the Maude costume rocks so hard her wig comes loose.
Dudes and Maudes Abide at New York City Lebowski Fest|Rich Goldstein|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Liszt looked at it, and to her fright and dismay cried out in a fit of impatience, "No, I won't hear it!"
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The performers and the nuns nearly died of fright, believing that their last hour had surely come.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
I am thankful that prolonged mourning is out of date; it made a fright of me and was getting on my nerves.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
When he was gone, Monsieur de Tressan flung off his wig, and mopped the perspiration from his brow.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
He passed his handkerchief for the last time over face and head, and resumed his wig.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for fright wig

fright wig

noun

a wig with frizzy hair standing straight up from the surface
a hairstyle resembling this

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