sight gag
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of sight gag
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Robinson and Kanin find a conceit, whether it’s a sight gag or a scenario, and keep escalating the ridiculousness of it well past the standard threshold of appropriateness.
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025
That scene is so tricky, Claire: Andrew in those kiddie pajamas is just this edge of a sight gag, and then your exchange in bed is wonderfully touching.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2024
Not to be forgotten: associate music director and pianist Riley Brule, who transcends the role of accompanist with a few choice interjections and a sight gag involving a pair of moose antlers.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 5, 2023
Pablo Larraín’s black-and-white horror spoof “El Conde” is founded on a ferocious sight gag: the former dictator Augusto Pinochet soaring into the night on a quest for human blood.
From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2023
It’s a sight gag, a provocation, an invitation to see something differently.
From Washington Post • Nov. 3, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
