follies means A lavishly-produced theatrical revue characterized by major stars, huge casts, and opulent costumes and scenery. It carries an Arena rating of 1506, earned across 36 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, follies ranks #1,777 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,606 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #4,701 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #5,770 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “follies” is a great word
FOLLIES — [Noun] A lavishly-produced theatrical revue characterized by major stars, huge casts, and opulent costumes and scenery. From French folies, plural of folie ("madness, folly"), used in its sense of extravagant or foolish display, first attested in English in this specific theatrical sense in 1880. Unlike "cabaret," which denotes an intimate, satirical nightclub show, or "extravaganza," a broad term for any spectacular production, a folly is a specific historical pageant of sequins and satire. It is the synchronized kick-line of a hundred bejeweled showgirls, the vertiginous shimmer of a thousand rhinestones under the klieg lights, and the specific, weightless melancholy of a showgirl’s plume descending after the final bow—a deliberate, glorious, and fleeting monument to excess, built each night upon a stage.
Etymology
From French folies.
noun
- A lavishly-produced theatrical revue characterized by major stars, huge casts, and opulent costumes and scenery.e.g.“The most famous Broadway theatrical revues of all time were the Ziegfeld Follies.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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