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• custard-pie
  custard-pie

  adjective

  characteristic of a type of slapstick comedy in which a performer throws a pie in another's face: popular especially in the era of vaudeville and early silent films.
• custard pie
  custard pie

custard-pie

American  

[kuhs-terd-pahy] / ˈkʌs tərdˈpaɪ /

adjective

1. characteristic of a type of slapstick comedy in which a performer throws a pie in another's face: popular especially in the era of vaudeville and early silent films.

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custard pie British  

noun

1. 1. a flat, open pie filled with real or artificial custard, as thrown in slapstick comedy

   2. ( as modifier )

      custard-pie humour

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Etymology

Origin of custard-pie

First recorded in 1930–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

custard-pie custard pie

A 2002 hit on the French presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Chevenement -- with a pineapple-flavoured missile at the Paris book fair -- would lead custard-pie throwing to be ruled a criminal offence.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

They watched beadily as the slim, smiling youth received the first, custard-pie impact of an American welcome.

From Time Magazine Archive

The climax of this primitive business is a custard-pie war in a beatnik beer and poetry parlor.

From Time Magazine Archive

Boisterous, rowdy, full of custard-pie humor, the program last week was hard on the heels of top-rating quiz show Information Please.

From Time Magazine Archive

But Mother had left a custard-pie on the upper shelf, and poor Bubble wanted a piece of it for dinner.

From Queen Hildegarde by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

And this episode in the three-part Vice sports series “Out of Bounds” will likely have the effect of a figurative custard pie in the face of the heavily armed and coercive DraftKings-FanDuel-powered juggernaut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

"I want to demonstrate that I can make serious points by flinging a custard pie around the stage for a couple of hours," the Czech-born Stoppard said in a 1970s interview.

From Barron's ● Nov. 29, 2025

“I filled in those holes through volunteering, through being an actor, through golf, bridge,” he said over a lunch of meatloaf and custard pie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025

He added: "Putting a custard pie on a waxwork model of King Charles is not going to convince anyone about climate change, it is a totally trivial action."

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2023

And of course, Minny’s pie. .. and the winner of Minny Jackson’s world-famous chocolate custard pie is...

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

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