minstrel show

American  

noun

1. a once popular type of stage show featuring comic dialogue, song, and dance in highly conventionalized patterns, performed by a troupe of actors traditionally comprising two end men, a chorus in blackface, and an interlocutor. Developed in the U.S. in the 19th century, this entertainment portrayed negative racial stereotypes and declined in popularity in the 20th century.

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minstrel show British  

noun

1. a theatrical entertainment consisting of songs, dances, comic turns, etc, performed by a troupe of actors wearing black face make-up

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Etymology

Origin of minstrel show

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minstrel show

There’s a direct line between much of American pop culture and the minstrel show, and pointing that out doesn’t mean that the country or the character are irredeemable.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

These would influence the American musical, but also shaping the genre were homegrown entertainments—the minstrel show, the revues of Florenz Ziegfeld, vaudeville and burlesque.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

She said Spike Lee was as an important influence, in particular his “Bamboozled,” a 2000 satire about a modern televised minstrel show.

From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2020

“I think the baggage is not just the minstrel show, but the story itself,” Wormley says.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2018

Gangsta rap—while it may amount to little more than a minstrel show when it appears on MTV today—has its roots in the struggle for a positive identity among outcasts.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander