shadow play

noun

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

Nearby words

shadow dance, shadow history, shadow mask, shadow of one's self, shadow pin, shadow play, shadow price, shadow roll, shadow test, shadow-box, shadowbox

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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

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