slapstick

American  

[slap-stik] / ˈslæpˌstɪk /

noun

1. broad comedy characterized by boisterous action, as the throwing of pies in actors' faces, mugging, and obvious farcical situations and jokes.

2. a stick or lath used by harlequins, clowns, etc., as in pantomime, for striking other performers, especially a combination of laths that make a loud, clapping noise without hurting the person struck.

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adjective

1. using, or marked by the use of, broad farce and horseplay.

   a slapstick motion picture.

slapstick British  

/ ˈslæpˌstɪk /

noun

1. 1. comedy characterized by horseplay and physical action

   2. ( as modifier )

      slapstick humour

2. a flexible pair of paddles bound together at one end, formerly used in pantomime to strike a blow to a person with a loud clapping sound but without injury

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Etymology

Origin of slapstick

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; slap ¹ + stick ¹

Example Sentences

It used to be slapstick gags like this all the way around.

From Slate • Mar. 7, 2026

Stuttgart added another in slapstick fashion when Atakan Karazor fell in the box and squeezed the ball over the line with his hip in stoppage time.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

It’s a shade of slapstick in a movie constructed around juvenile pratfalls and targeted destruction that allows O’Hara’s mom to retain her dignity.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

Russian humor, meanwhile, “is slapstick, only you actually die.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

She snapped a needle from a cactus and with the slapstick pantomime of a circus clown pretended to pick her teeth with it.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli