N. absurdity, absurdness, imbecility, alogy|, nonsense, utter nonsense, paradox, inconsistency, stultiloquy, stultiloquence, nugacity, blunder, muddle, bull, irishism|, hibernicism|, slipslop, anticlimax, bathos, sophism, farce, galimathias, amphigouri, rhapsody, farrago, betise, extravagance, romance, sciamachy, sell, pun, verbal quibble, macaronic, jargon, fustian, twaddle, gibberish, exaggeration, moonshine, stuff, mare's nest, quibble, self-delusion, vagary, tomfoolery, poppycock, mummery, monkey trick, boutade, escapade

V. play the fool, talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess, battre la campagne, ἀνεμώλια βάζειν be -absurd

Adj. absurd, nonsensical, preposterous, egregious, senseless, inconsistent, ridiculous, extravagant, quibbling, self-annulling, self- contradictory, macaronic, punning, foolish, sophistical, unmeaning, without rhyme or reason, fantastic

Phr. credat judaeus apella, tell it to the marines, faculties

Int. fiddlededee, pish, pho, "in the name of the prophet—figs!"

N. amusement, entertainment, recreation, fun, game, fun and games, diversion, divertissement, reaction, solace, pastime, passetemps, sport, labor of love, pleasure, relaxation, leisure, fun, frolic, merriment, jollity, joviality, jovialness, heyday, laughter, jocosity, jocoseness, drollery, buffoonery, tomfoolery, mummery, pleasantry, wit, quip, quirk, giggle, titter, snigger, snicker, crow, cheer, chuckle, shout, horse laugh, belly laugh, hearty laugh, guffaw, burst of laughter, fit of laughter, shout of laughter, roar of laughter, peal of laughter, cachinnation, kentish fire, tiger, play, game, game at romps, gambol, romp, prank, antic, rig, lark, spree, skylarking, vagary, monkey trick, gambade, fredaine, escapade, echappee, bout, espieglerie, practical joke, dance, hop, reel, rigadoon, saraband, hornpipe, bolero, ballroom dance, minuet, waltz, polka, fox trot, tango, samba, rhumba, twist, stroll, hustle, cha-cha, fandango, cancan, bayadere, breakdown, cake-walk, cornwallis, break dancing, nautch-girl, shindig*, skirtdance, stag dance, virginia reel, square dance, galop, galopade, jig, irish jig, fling, strathspey, allemande, gavot, gavotte, tarantella, mazurka, morisco|, morris dance, quadrille, country dance, folk dance, cotillon, sir roger de coverley, ballet, ball, bal, bal masque, bal costume, masquerade, terpsichore, festivity, merrymaking, party, blowout, hullabaloo, hoedown, bat*, bum*, bust*, clambake, donation party, fish fry, jamboree*, kantikoy, nautch, randy, squantum, tear *, turnerfest, yule log, fete, festival, gala, ridotto, revels, revelry, reveling, carnival, brawl, saturnalia, high jinks, feast, banquet, regale, symposium, wassail, carouse, carousal, jollification, junket, wake, irish wake, picnic, fete champetre, regatta, field day, treat, round of pleasures, dissipation, a short life and a merry one, racketing, holiday making, rejoicing, jubilee, bonfire, fireworks, feu-de-joie, firecracker, holiday, gala day, red letter day, play day, high days and holidays, high holiday, bank holiday, may day, derby day, saint monday, easter monday, whit monday, bairam, wayz-goos, bean feast, arbor day, declaration day, independence day, labor day, memorial day, thanksgiving day, mardi gras, mi-careme, feria, fiesta, place of amusement, theater, hall, concert room, ballroom, assemblyroom, music hall, park, plaisance, national park, national forest, state park, county park, city park, vest-pocket park, public park (public) 737a, arbor, garden, pleasure ground, playground, cricketground, croquet ground, archery ground, hunting ground, tennis court, racket court, bowling alley, green alley, croquet lawn, rink, glaciarum, skating rink, roundabout, merry-go-round, swing, montagne russe, game of chance, game of skill, athletic sports, gymnastics, archery, rifle shooting, tournament, pugilism, sports, horse racing, the turf, aquatics, skating, sliding, cricket, tennis, lawn tennis, hockey, football, baseball, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, rackets, fives, trap bat and ball, battledore and shuttlecock, la grace, pall-mall, tipcat, croquet, golf, curling, pallone, polo, water polo, tent pegging, tilting at the ring, quintain, greasy pole, quoits, horseshoes, discus, rounders, lacrosse, tobogganing, water polo, knurr and spell, leapfrog, hop skip and jump, mother may i, french and english, tug of war, blindman's bluff, hunt the slopper, hide and seek, kiss in the ring, snapdragon, cross questions and crooked answers, crisscross, hopscotch, jacks, jackstones, marbles, mumblety-peg, mumble-the-peg, pushball, shinney, shinny, tag &c. billiards, pool, pingpong, pyramids, bagatelle, bowls, skittles, ninepins, kain, american bowls, tenpins, tivoli, cards, card games, whist, rubber, round game, loo, cribbage, besique, euchre, drole, ecarte, picquet, allfours, quadrille, omber, reverse, pope joan, commit, boston, boaston, blackjack, twenty-one, vingtun, quinze, thirty-one, put, speculation, connections, brag, cassino, lottery, commerce, snip-snap-snoren, lift smoke, blind hookey, polish bank, earl of coventry, napoleon, patience, pairs, banker, blind poker, draw poker, straight poker, stud poker, bluff, bridge, bridge whist, lotto, monte, three-card monte, nap, penny-ante, poker, reversis, squeezers, old maid, fright, beggar-my-neighbor, baccarat, ace, king, queen, knave, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, trey, deuce, joker, trump, wild card, spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds, major suit, minor suit, bower, right bower, left bower, dummy, jackpot, deck, pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full-house, four of a kind, royal flush, misere &c. chess, draughts, checkers, checquers, backgammon, dominos, merelles, nine men's morris, go bang, solitaire, game of fox and goose, monopoly, loto &c. scrabble, scribbage, boggle, crossword puzzle, hangman, morra, gambling, toy, plaything, bauble, doll, teetotum, knickknack, magic lantern, peep show, puppet show, raree show, gallanty show, toy shop, "quips and cranks and wanton wiles, nods and becks and wreathed smiles", entertainer, showman, showgirl, dancer, tap dancer, song-and-dance man, vaudeville act, singer, musician, sportsman, gamester, reveler, master of ceremonies, master of revels, pompom girl, arbiter elegantiarum, arbiter bibendi, archer, fan, toxophilite, turfman

V. amuse, entertain, divert, enliven, tickle the fancy, titillate, raise a smile, put in good humor, cause laughter, create laughter, occasion laughter, raise laughter, excite laughter, produce laughter, convulse with laughter, set the table in a roar, be the death of one, recreate, solace, cheer, rejoice, please, interest, treat, regale, amuse oneself, game, play a game, play pranks, play tricks, sport, disport, toy, wanton, revel, junket, feast, carouse, banquet, make merry, drown care, drive dull care away, frolic, gambol, frisk, romp, caper, dance, keep up the ball, run a rig, sow one's wild oats, have one's fling, take one's pleasure, paint the town red*, see life, desipere in loco, play the fool, make holiday, keep holiday, go a maying, while away the time, beguile the time, kill time, dally, smile, simper, smirk, grin, grin like a cheshire cat, mock, laugh in one's sleeve, laugh, laugh outright, giggle, titter, snigger, crow, snicker, chuckle, cackle, burst out, burst into a fit of laughter, shout, split, roar, shake one's sides, split one's sides, hold both one's sides, roar with laughter, die with laughter

Adj. amusing, entertaining, diverting, recreational, recreative, lusory, pleasant, laughable, witty, fun, festive, festal, jovial, jolly, jocund, roguish, rompish, playful, playful as a kitten, sportive, ludibrious|, funny, very funny, hilarious, uproarious, side-splitting, amused, "pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw", laughing, risible, ready to burst, ready to split, ready to die with laughter, convulsed with laughter, rolling in the aisles

Adv. "on the light fantastic toe", at play, in sport

Int. vive la bagatelle, vogue la galere, phr, deus nobis haec otia fecit, dum vivimus vivamus, dulce est desipere in loco, "(every room) hath blazed with lights and brayed with minstrelsy", misce stullitiam consiliis brevem

N. wit, humor, wittiness, sense of humor, attic wit, attic salt, atticism, salt, esprit, point, fancy, whim, drollery, pleasantry, farce, buffoonery, fooling, tomfoolery, shenanigan, harlequinade, broad farce, broad humor, fun, espieglerie, vis comica, jocularity, jocosity, jocoseness, facetiousness, waggery, waggishness, whimsicality, comicality, banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid-pro- quo, ridicule, jest, joke, jape, jibe, facetiae, levity, quips and cranks, capital joke, canorae nugae, standing jest, standing joke, private joke, conceit, quip, quirk, crank, quiddity, concetto, plaisanterie, brilliant idea, merry thought, bright thought, happy thought, sally, flash of wit, flash of merriment, scintillation, mot, mot pour rire, witticism, smart saying, bon-mot, jeu d'esprit, epigram, jest book, dry joke, quodlibet, cream of the jest, word-play, jeu de mots, play of words, play upon words, pun, punning, double entente, double entendre, quibble, verbal quibble, conundrum, anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade|, old joke, tired joke, flat joke, joe miller|

V. joke, jest, crack a joke, make a joke, jape, cut jokes, perpetrate a joke, pun, perpetrate a pun, make fun of, make merry with, kid, kid around, fool around, set the table in a roar, retort, banter, ridentem dicere verum, joke at one's expense, take in jest, bomb, fall flat, go over like a lead balloon

Adj. witty, attic, quick-witted, nimble-witted, smart, jocular, jocose, humorous, facetious, waggish, whimsical, kidding, joking, puckish, playful, merry and wise, pleasant, sprightly, light, spirituel, sparkling, epigrammatic, full of point, ben trovato, comic, zany, madcap, funny, amusing

Adv. jokingly, in joke, in jest, in sport, in play

Phr. adhibenda est in jocando moderatio, "gentle dullness ever loves a joke", "leave this keen encounter of our wits", just joking, just kidding, "surely you jest!"

N. ostentation, display, show, flourish, parade, etalage, pomp, array, state, solemnity, dash, splash, splurge, glitter, strut, pomposity, pretense, pretensions, showing off, fuss, magnificence, splendor, coup d'oeil, grand doings, coup de theatre, stage effect, stage trick, claptrap, mise en scene, tour de force, chic, demonstration, flying colors, tomfoolery, flourish of trumpets, pageant, pageantry, spectacle, exhibition, exposition, procession, turn out, set out, grand function, fte, gala, field day, review, march past, promenade, insubstantial pageant, dress, court dress, full dress, evening dress, ball dress, fancy dress, tailoring, millinery, man millinery, frippery, foppery, equipage, ceremony, ceremonial, ritual, form, formality, etiquette, puncto, punctilio, punctiliousness, starched stateliness, stateliness, mummery, solemn mockery, mouth honor, attitudinarian, fop

V. be ostentatious, come forward, put oneself forward, attract attention, star it, cut a figure, make a dash, make a splash, make a splurge, cut a dash, cut a splash, cut a splurge, figure, figure away, make a show, make a display, glitter, show off, show off one's paces, parade, march past, display, exhibit, put forward, hold up, trot out, hand out, sport, brandish, blazon forth, dangle, dangle before the eyes, cry up, proner, flaunt, emblazon, prink, set off, mount, have framed and glazed, put a good face upon, put a smiling face upon, clean the outside of the platter

Adj. ostentatious, showy, dashing, pretentious, janty, jaunty, grand, pompous, palatial, high-sounding, turgid, gairish, garish, gaudy, gaudy as a peacock, gaudy as a butterfly, gaudy as a tulip, flaunting, flashing, flaming, glittering, gay, splendid, magnificent, sumptuous, theatrical, dramatic, spectacular, ceremonial, ritual, solemn, stately, majestic, formal, stiff, ceremonious, punctilious, starched, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines, decjed out, all decked out, en granite tenue, in best bib and tucker, in sunday best, endimanch, chic

Adv. with flourish of trumpet, with beat of drum, with flying colors, ad captandum vulgus

Phr. honores mutant mores