harlequinade

American  

[hahr-luh-kwi-neyd, -ki-] / ˌhɑr lə kwɪˈneɪd, -kɪ- /

noun

1. a pantomime, farce, or similar play in which Harlequin plays the principal part.

2. buffoonery.

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harlequinade British  

/ ˌhɑːlɪkwɪˈneɪd /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) theatre a play or part of a pantomime in which harlequin has a leading role

2. buffoonery

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Etymology

Origin of harlequinade

From the French word arlequinade, dating back to 1770–80. See harlequin, -ade ¹

Explanation

A harlequinade is the part of a comedy that features the harlequin, an old-fashioned clown. A harlequinade is also any time someone clowns around, like if you put on a fake mustache and imitate your math teacher. A harlequinade was originally the part of a pantomime that featured the harlequin, a mute character with a mask and diamond-patterned tights, goofing around with a clown. Since those aren’t performed as much now as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, a harlequinade also refers to any time people engage in high-jinx and mayhem. If you wanted to tell someone to get serious while showing off your vocabulary, you could say, "Stop the harlequinade!"

Example Sentences

The last decade has seen a harlequinade of big shots, celebrities, pundits and politicians bounding across the proscenium wearing stage makeup and playing different characters successively, like Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove.”

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025

Albinati is a scholar of the harlequinade of masculinity, its rites and subtleties.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2019

It was them who introduced the fairytale element and turned the show into two halves, with the harlequinade in the second part.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2016

“I was too intent on self-fulfillment, and rather crude about it, with all my harlequinade and conscious manipulation of your pity,” he wrote.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2010

The fellow has played Nothing better, they tell me, than harlequinade!

From Collected Poems In Two Volumes, Vol. II by Dobson, Austin