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comedy of manners
noun phrase
: comedy that satirically portrays the manners and fashions of a particular class or set
Examples of comedy of manners in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a political drama and a thriller and a comedy of manners and a rom-com.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2024
Those kinds of works, like New Yorker cartoons, can fall on the wrong side of precious pretty quickly, being all light comedy of manners with little heft.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2024
Lots more followed in the novel after that, The Spell (1998), a stylish but ultimately failed attempt at a comedy of manners about four men who mostly just drink too much, do some drugs, and tumble into bed with one another.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
So far, the pitch-black comedy of manners, starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis, has grossed $28 million in North America and $57.7 million worldwide.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 29 Sep. 2024
Social classes and generations clash in this black comedy of manners set in the stunning English countryside, where the responsibility of conserving the family legacy is not for the faint-hearted.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 July 2024
The squirmy comedy of manners introduced May’s discovery, Charles Grodin, to the world.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
The movie is good fun and also surprisingly obvious — a slapstick comedy of manners that hints, but only hints, at darker human urges.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Here, all of the horror tropes are reconstituted as a comedy of manners.
—Amanda Hess, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1822, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of comedy of manners was
in 1822
Articles Related to comedy of manners
Dictionary Entries Near comedy of manners
Cite this Entry
“Comedy of manners.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comedy%20of%20manners. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on comedy of manners
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about comedy of manners
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