How to Use minstrel in a Sentence
minstrel
noun- Edna St. Vincent Millay was unofficially the minstrel of Maine, as her poetry celebrates its coast and countryside.
-
There was a good 70, 80 years of that with the minstrel shows.
—Ron Hart, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2018
-
Who knows why these yahoos did a minstrel show in 1960?
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 5 Oct. 2019
-
Wade believes the minstrel in these new texts was more of a local performer.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 31 May 2023
-
There is the truly alarming sight of Mr. Glover’s body, and the minstrel twitch that sends his limbs spasming and causes his eyes to pop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 11 May 2018
-
Depending on the tale, the flutist was a minstrel, shaman, trader or trickster.
—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2020
-
Jason Whitlock has a brand-new minstrel show on Fox Sports.
—Michael Harriot, The Root, 8 Sep. 2017
-
After the deed is done, the queen agrees to marry the murderous brother, but on the eve of the wedding, a minstrel finds a piece of the dead brother’s bone in the forest.
—Georgia Rowe, The Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2017
-
Piety becomes psychedelia in an image of a once well-meaning minstrel whose mind has been newly turned on and tuned in.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
-
Fifty crafters, a luncheon, a huge bake sale, take-a-chance table and strolling minstrels will be part of the festivities.
—courant.com, 27 Nov. 2019
-
My eyes are wide, the type of wide that white people would imitate during minstrel shows.
—Brooklyn White, Teen Vogue, 11 Mar. 2018
-
Most are records of payments made to minstrels, listed by their first names and instruments played.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 15 June 2023
-
But what is the difference between their portrayal and that of the actors in minstrel shows?
—Brianna Holt, Quartzy, 1 Nov. 2019
-
While Guardian speculates the title is a reference to minstrel shows, the outlet also points to a 1985 Prince song with the same name.
—Zoe Haylock, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2018
-
The Man), takes its name from a legendary character of Colombian folklore who is an archetype of the traveling minstrel.
—Judy Cantor-Navas, Billboard, 14 Nov. 2017
-
Singing for your supper is a romantic notion with roots in the medieval minstrels of Europe.
—Hector Saldana, ExpressNews.com, 13 June 2019
-
Posters of 20th-century blackface performers and minstrel shows line the walls.
—Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2019
-
The 130-year-old brand features a Black woman who was originally dressed as a minstrel character.
—NBC News, 18 June 2020
-
Blackface dates to nearly 200 years, when white performers darkened their faces with polish to mock enslaved Africans in minstrel shows.
—Faith Karimi and Doug Criss, CNN, 20 Sep. 2019
-
In the Middle Ages, minstrels often traveled from taverns and fairs to entertain people.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 31 May 2023
-
Social media posts decried the dark skin tone, many likening it to the blackface minstrels of the 19th century that promoted racial stereotypes.
—Colleen Barry, chicagotribune.com, 4 May 2018
-
The 130-year-old brand features a Black woman named Aunt Jemima, who was originally dressed as a minstrel character.
—NBC News, 17 June 2020
-
Richard left home to join a minstrel show run by a man known as Sugarloaf Sam, occasionally appearing in drag.
—Anchorage Daily News, 9 May 2020
-
Batiste is not a reprobate minstrel like late-night regular Lil Nas X; yet the weakness of both is held in equivalent esteem by the cultural mainstream.
—Armond White, National Review, 6 Apr. 2022
-
One of the best has to do with his henpeckedshoe-salesman father, who briefly frees himself from his wife’s suffocating influence by taking the part of Mr. Bones in a minstrel show.
—Stephen King, New York Times, 9 May 2017
-
The book, by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff, chronicles the minstrel and ragtime traditions in vaudeville theatre that was major public venue for blues in its early years.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 15 Mar. 2023
-
The opera’s plot centers on the tension between carnal love and spiritual purity, with Tannhäuser, a minstrel, caught between the two realms.
—Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Feb. 2023
-
Circuses, tent revivals, minstrel shows, magicians and more could credit Hatch Show Print for helping pack venues.
—Jon Waterhouse, CNN, 7 June 2017
-
Hurt drew inspiration from disparate sources, including ragtime and music from minstrel and medicine shows.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
-
At the newly popular and lavish Hotel del Coronado, minstrel shows featured white performers in blackface.
—Ashley Ahn, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minstrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated: