spaghetti western

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a low-budget western movie shot in Italy or Spain, usually with Italian actors and an American star.

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spaghetti western British  

noun

1. a cowboy film about the American West made, esp by an Italian director, in Europe

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Etymology

Origin of spaghetti western

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spaghetti western

Based on her hit 2018 stage play of the same name, Harris’ film is a road movie meeting a spaghetti western, with a dash of “Set It Off” gone Tarantino.

From Salon ● May 19, 2026

OK, but “Birdman” over Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023

The daughter is pop '80s/'90s, the grandmother, who tells tall tales as many grandmothers do, is a spaghetti western, and the mother, who is still traumatized by Iran, is a neorealist Kiarostami film.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2023

This spring, the spaghetti western songslinger with an unmistakable baritone threw a word-of-mouth tour warm-up show at Yen Wor, hiring a West Seattle buddy to bring a stage and lighting into the karaoke bar.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2022

“I told them, man, that’s like 1940s, 1950s spaghetti western stuff.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2021