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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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

She has one foot on the dashboard, and bubble-gum bubbles are popping out of her funny little rosebud mouth, right there in the middle of her funny big custard-pie face.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bing sings a few songs; Hope clowns and rolls his eyes at Dotty; the late Robert Benchley breaks in from time to time to put a gloss on the frozen custard-pie humor.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Boil it down a little, and give it a lower crust, and I should think it would make a very good custard-pie," said Jack.

From The Voyage of the Rattletrap by H. M. Wilder

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

Entries included a kangaroo, ale and Tasmanian pepperberry pie, a spiced miso beef short ribs and sour cherries pie, a Christmas dinner pie and a rhubarb and custard pie.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2022

He dodged every rubber band, coconut custard pie, mud clod, and wadded-up sock ball they flung his way.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

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