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definitions

shadow play

noun
  1. a show in which shadows of puppets, flat figures, or live actors are projected onto a lighted screen.

Origin of shadow play

First recorded in 1890–95
Also called shadowgraph, shadow pantomime, shadow show, shadow theater.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shadow play

Historical Examples of shadow play

  • Was it a moving herd, a shifting mist, a shadow-play between the night and dawn?

    Under Two Flags

    Ouida [Louise de la Ramee]

British Dictionary definitions for shadow play

shadow play

noun
  1. a theatrical entertainment using shadows thrown by puppets or actors onto a lighted screen
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