different between charade vs farce

English

Etymology

From French charade, charrade (“prattle, idle conversation; a kind of riddle”), probably from Occitan charrada (“conversation; chatter”), from charrar (“to chat; to chatter”) + -ada. As a round of the game, originally a clipping of acting charade but now usually understood and formed as a back-formation from charades.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: sh?räd?, sh?r?d?, IPA^(key): /??????d/, /????e?d/
• (General American) enPR: sh?r?d?, IPA^(key): /????e?d/
• Rhymes: -e?d

Noun

charade (plural charades)

1. (literature, archaic) A genre of riddles where the clues to the answer are descriptions or puns on its syllables, with a final clue to the whole.
   • 1878, "Charade" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. V, p. 398:

     CHARADE, a trifling species of composition, or quasi-literary form of amusement, which may perhaps be best defined as a punning enigma propounded in a series of descriptions. A word is taken of two or more syllables, each forming a distinct word; each of these is described in verse or prose, as aptly and enigmatically as possible; and the same process is applied to the whole word. The neater and briefer the descriptive parts of the problem, the better the charade will be. In selecting words for charades, special attention should be paid to the absolute quality of the syllables composing them, inaccuracy in trifles of this sort depriving them of what little claim to merit they may possess. The brilliant rhythmic trifles of W. Mackworth Praed are well known. Of representative prose charades, the following specimens are perhaps as good as could be selected:—“My first, with the most rooted antipathy to a Frenchman, prides himself, whenever they meet, upon sticking close to his jacket; my second has many virtues, nor is its least that it gives its name to my first; my whole may I never catch!” “My first is company; my second shuns company; my third collects company; and my whole amuses company.” The solutions are Tar-tar and Co-nun-drum.

2. (uncommon) A single round of the game charades, an acted form of the earlier riddles.

   Synonyms: acted charade, (obsolete) dumb charade

   • 1911, "Charade" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. V, p. 856:

     ...The most popular form of this amusement is the acted charade, in which the meaning of the different syllables is acted out on the stage, the audience being left to guess each syllable and thus, combining the meaning of all the syllables, the whole word. A brilliant example of the acted charade is described in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.

3. (obsolete) A play resembling the game charades, particularly due to poor acting.
4. A deception or pretense, originally an absurdly obvious one but now in general use.

   Synonyms: farce, sham; see also Thesaurus:fake

Translations

Verb

charade (third-person singular simple present charades, present participle charading, simple past and past participle charaded)

1. To act out a charade (of); to gesture; to pretend.

Further reading

• charade in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• charade in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• charade at OneLook Dictionary Search
• charades on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• charade (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

French

Etymology

Probably from Occitan charrada, from charrar (“to chat”). Compare Italian ciarlare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?a.?ad/

Noun

charade f (plural charades)

1. charade (kind of riddle)
2. (figuratively) something bizarre or hard to understand

3. (Louisiana, Cajun French) chat, conversation

Further reading

• “charade” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /f??s/
• (General American) enPR: färs, IPA^(key): /f??s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)s

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French farce (“comic interlude in a mystery play”, literally “stuffing”).

Noun

farce (countable and uncountable, plural farces)

1. (uncountable) A style of humor marked by broad improbabilities with little regard to regularity or method.
2. (countable) A motion picture or play featuring this style of humor.
3. (uncountable) A situation abounding with ludicrous incidents.
4. (uncountable) A ridiculous or empty show.

Derived terms

• farcical

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb from Middle English farcen, from Old French farsir, farcir, from Latin farci? (“to cram, stuff”).

Verb

farce (third-person singular simple present farces, present participle farcing, simple past and past participle farced)

1. (transitive) To stuff with forcemeat or other food items.
   • 1923, Walter de la Mare, Seaton's Aunt

     The lunch […] consisted […] of […] lobster mayonnaise, cold game sausages, an immense veal and ham pie farced with eggs, truffles, and numberless delicious flavours; besides kickshaws, creams and sweetmeats.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To fill full; to stuff.
   • 1678, Robert Sanderson, Pax Ecclesiae

     The first principles of religion should not be farced with school points and private tenets.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To make fat.
   • 1599, Ben Jonson, Every Man out of His Humour

     if thou wouldst farce thy lean ribs

4. (transitive, obsolete) To swell out; to render pompous.
   • 1615, George Sandys, The Relation of a Journey begun an. Dom. 1610, in four books

     farcing his letter with fustian

Translations

Noun

farce

1. (cooking) Forcemeat, stuffing.

Further reading

• farce in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• farce in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• farce at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Facer, facer

Czech

Noun

farce

1. dative singular of farka
2. locative singular of farka

French

Etymology

From Old French farse, from Medieval Latin farsa, feminine perfect passive participle from farc?re, from farci? (“I stuff”). The theatre sense alludes to the pleasant and varied character of certain stuffed food items.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?s/

Noun

farce f (plural farces)

1. (cooking) stuffing
2. (theater) farce

Derived terms

Related terms

• farcir

Descendants

Further reading

• “farce” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

References

Hausa

Noun

farc? m (plural far??t?, possessed form farcèn)

1. fingernail

   Synonym: ?umba

Italian

Noun

farce f

1. plural of farcia

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

farce f (plural farces)

1. (Jersey) batter