light entertainmentn.
/ˌlʌɪt ɛntəˈteɪnm(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˌlaɪd ˌɛn(t)ərˈteɪ(n)mənt/ A genre of theatre, film, radio or television programmes, etc., designed to be entertaining rather than thought-provoking, and often incorporating music, dancing, or comedy.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > other dramatic or variety performances > [noun]
antic1580
wayang1671
light entertainment1787
take-off1845
féerie1878
showboating1909
mirthquake1911
mirthquaker1921
icecapade1940
happening1959
stripagram1981
1787 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 21 July When Sadler's Wells was the only theatre of light entertainment, many of its performances were scarcely tolerable.
1896 Musical Rec. (Boston) July 6/2 There are few kinds of light entertainment better than good burlesque.
1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 406/3 Journey's End..is not a memorial service; nor, at the other extreme, is it light entertainment.
2010 Observer 28 Mar. (Kids Suppl.) 8/3 No one familiar with Saturday evening light entertainment can have failed to notice the appeal of ballroom dance for younger viewers.
Compounds
General use as a modifier.
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1918 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 30 June 19/3 Coralie Andrews, one of the best light entertainment artists on the American stage a few years ago.
1934 Daily Texan (Univ. Texas, Austin) 10 May 7/2 A..light-entertainment program combining a first rate farce-comedy, a vaudeville with a variety of acts, and a technicolor Walt Disney screen cartoon is showing now through Friday at the Paramount.
1978 Daily Tel. 3 July 2/2 Bruce Forsyth has signed a contract with London Weekend Television to front a series of 12 weekly light entertainment shows.
2004 Media Week 4 May 28/3 Programmes..falling firmly into the very populist light entertainment camp.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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n.1787