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When we say the origins of the word pastiche are totally tubular, we’re not just being saucy—we mean it. In Italian, pasticcio (more specifically pasticcio di maccheroni) refers to a decadent pie consisting of a sweet crust filled with meat, truffles, béchamel, and macaroni—that famously tube-shaped pasta. Given such a jumble of (albeit delicious) ingredients, it makes sense that pasticcio in Italian has also long carried such additional meanings as “a mess or confused affair” and “a confused or mixed piece of writing.” It is these meanings that influenced both the English word pasticcio, in use since the 18th century, and the French word pastiche, which English borrowed in the late 19th century and which is now much more common. Both refer to hodgepodges of all kinds, but are most often applied to creative works—literary, artistic, musical, architectural, etc.—that imitate earlier styles or that are made up of parts from other works. A pastiche, you might say, takes a little bit of this and a little bit of that, not unlike the English language itself.
Examples of pastiche in a Sentence
Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Most of the really fun books that are doing various dialects are also inventing things themselves—they’re not pure pastiche.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2025
With a few glaring homages to Jean-Luc Godard, among other nods to the epoch, the film plays more like historical pastiche than original material.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2025
Who needs a pastiche of prints and riotous colors when these more harmonious shades play so well together?
—Tom Stubbs, Robb Report, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pastiche
Cite this Entry
“Pastiche.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastiche. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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