underplot

American  

[uhn-der-plot] / ˈʌn dərˌplɒt /

noun

1. a plot subordinate to another plot, as in a novel.

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underplot British  

/ ˈʌndəˌplɒt /

noun

1. a subsidiary plot in a literary or dramatic work

2. an undercover plot

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Etymology

Origin of underplot

First recorded in 1660–70; under- + plot

Example Sentences

The underplot in Sooky concerns Sooky's efforts to get into a juvenile club whose members wear uniforms and drill like soldiers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another argument against Shakspere's responsibility for the whole play is the manner in which the minor characters are introduced and the underplot managed.

From A Letter on Shakspere's Authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen and on the characteristics of Shakspere's style and the secret of his supremacy by Spalding, William

How is the Duel scene related to the underplot?

From Shakespeare Study Programs; The Comedies by Porter, Charlotte Endymion

In stage presentation the play also shows a wide departure from Kyd, especially in the indescribable comic underplot.

From Tragedy by Thorndike, Ashley H.

The underplot, according to Boyle, is derived from Cervantes' Curious Impertinent, and in Acts I. and II. passages “are literally taken from that novel.”

From Philip Massinger by Cruickshank, A. H.