— burlesquely , adv. — burlesquer , n.
/beuhr lesk"/ , n., adj., v., burlesqued, burlesquing .
n.
1. an artistic composition, esp. literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity.
2. any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature.
3. Also, burlesk . a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus.
adj.
4. involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject.
5. of, pertaining to, or like stage-show burlesque.
v.t.
6. to make ridiculous by mocking representation.
v.i.
7. to use caricature.
[ 1650-60; burlesco, equiv. to burl ( a ) jest (perh. -esco -ESQUE ]
Syn. 1. satire, lampoon, farce. BURLESQUE, CARICATURE, PARODY, TRAVESTY refer to the literary or dramatic forms that imitate serious works or subjects to achieve a humorous or satiric purpose. The characteristic device of BURLESQUE is mockery of both high and low through association with their opposites: a burlesque of high and low life. CARICATURE, usually associated with visual arts or with visual effects in literary works, implies exaggeration of characteristic details: The caricature emphasized his nose.
PARODY achieves its humor through application of the manner or technique, usually of a well-known writer, to unaccustomed subjects: a parody by Swift. TRAVESTY implies a grotesque form of burlesque: characters so changed as to produce a travesty.