Side show

/ˈsaɪdˌʃoʊ/ · noun

Meaning

A minor attraction at a larger event such as a circus, fair or music festival..

Definitions by Sense

1. A minor attraction at a larger event such as a circus, fair or music festival.
2. (figurative) An incidental spectacle that diverts attention from a larger concern.
3. (US slang) An incident in which drivers block traffic to perform stunts like donuts and burnouts for an extended period of time.

Example Sentences

1999 November 8, Frank Hayes, The Back Page: The main event, Computerworld, page 86, And IT people dismiss IT′s impact because, hey, we like being a sideshow to the real action.

1999, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Year Book, Australia, Number 81, page 349, Other recreation services, including amusement parks or arcades, sideshows, circuses and agricultural shows, accounted for another 666 businesses. These businesses employed 10,318 persons and a further 3,518 volunteers.

1972 October 14, Henry Johnston, U.S. Tune Wins Rio Festival, Billboard, page 64, Sideshows for foreign guests included one provided by Philips manager Andre Midani with his chief recording artists including Chico Buarque, Jorge Ben, Gal Costa Quintato, and Violado.

In Australia he busked (singing on street corners), steeplejacked, was a drover and sheep shearer, did motor bike stunts in sideshows and even painted the Sydney Harbor^([sic]) Bridge.

They taught the twins to play saxophone and transferred them from the sideshow to vaudeville.

Entertainment features and sideshows enhanced attendance.

Don′t miss the rusty relics dredged up from the original pier, and the spooky old sideshow machines.

Far from learning from the failures of ‘economic rationalism,’ the Liberals want us to swallow more of the snake oil medicine while diverting our attention to the consumption tax sideshow.

Synonyms for side show

Antonyms for side show

Related Words

Word Forms

• sideshows
• side show

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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