I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: slap (II) + stick
1.
a. : a device consisting of two flat pieces of wood fastened together at one end but loose at the other and sometimes used by an actor in farce to make a loud noise in simulation of a severe blow
b. : any of several similar devices: as
(1) : two flat pieces of leather sewed together, weighted at the hitting end, and used as a club
(2) : a stick hinged on one side to the top of a slate and clapped against the top to mark on a sound track the beginning of a movie take
2.
a. : comedy that depends for its effect on fast, boisterous, and zany physical activity and horseplay (as the throwing of pies, the whacking of posteriors with a slapstick, chases, mugging) often accompanied by broad obvious rowdy verbal humor
relies heavily on slapstick . Rosalind is trapped in the slats of a venetian blind, spanked by an exploding engine part in a hot-rod race, nearly strangled in an electric fan — Time
the extravagant slapstick comedy used by English pantomimists — M.E.McIntosh
b. : humor, language, or activity like that in slapstick comedy
humor that ranges from arrant slapstick to satire — Newsweek
an exuberance and colloquial vigor that often only just stop short of slapstick — F.W.Bateson
3. : a flat strip of wood upon which an abrasive (as a piece of emery paper) is fixed for use in polishing or finishing work
II. adjective
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of slapstick
slapstick comedy
slapstick humor
a slapstick style
his extravagant slapstick English — B.D.Wolfe