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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

byplay en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

From by- + play.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) Any action, carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action.
    • [...] there had been some amusing byplay with the enginemen as to what might be expected to happen if the engines failed to behave themselves properly. 1959 October, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 477:
    • The father-son byplay is occasionally overdone and tedious, but there is a genuine warmth in both the Oland-Luke and the Toler-Sen Yung teamings. 1983, Frank Northen Magill, Magill's American film guide, volume 1, page 647:
  2. (countable, uncountable) Any action, by supporting actor.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
by-play alternative lexicographic
byplays Number=Plur lexicographic

Translations (3)

gv fo-chloie (any action carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action) · it controscena (any action carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action) · cs vedlejší děj (any action carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action)