scenen.

Brit.

/siːn/, U.S.

/sin/

Forms: late Middle English– scene, 1500s sean, 1500s–1600s scaene, 1500s–1600s scean, 1500s–1600s sceane, 1500s–1600s scheane, 1500s–1600s seane, 1500s–1700s schene, 1600s cean, 1600s saene, 1600s scaen, 1600s sceene, 1600s schaene, 1600s schoene, 1600s scien, 1600s scoene, 1600s–1700s sceen; also Scottish pre-1700 shaene.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French scene; Latin scēna.

Etymology: < (i) Middle French scene, sene, French scène house-like structure in a theatre before which actors perform, public place where dramatic performances take place (both 2nd half of the 14th cent.), (in ancient Greece or Rome) a dramatic performance (a1531), subdivision of a play (a1574), stage (1596), the dramatic art, theatre (1646), fuss, scandal (1676), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin scēna, scaena background against which a play is performed, natural scenery, platform on which actors perform, stage, representation or performance on the stage, activity on the stage, sphere in which actions are on public display, piece of melodramatic behaviour, piece of make-believe, pretence, spectacle worthy of the stage, background or setting against which events take place, in post-classical Latin also subdivision of a play (4th cent.) < ancient Greek σκηνή tent or booth, stage building as background for plays, in Hellenistic Greek also stage effect, acting, theatrical trick, perhaps < the same Indo-European base as σκιά shadow (see scio- comb. form) + -νή , suffix forming nouns, σκηνή having originally denoted any light construction of cloth hung between tree branches to provide shade. Compare Italian scena subdivision of a play (a1375), part of an ancient Greek theatre consisting of the platform on which the actors performed and the wall behind it that served as a backdrop (1448), location where action in a drama is supposed to take place, setting (1560), (plural) exaggerated passion or sentiment (a1694); compare also scena n. Compare Catalan escena (1803), Spanish escena (1642 or earlier), Portuguese cena (1619).The Latin word was probably borrowed from Greek via Etruscan, like other words related to games and the theatre (e.g. ludus play (see ludus n.), persōna persona n., histriō histrio n.): this would explain the vocalism. Dryden ( Virg. Georg. iii. 38) rhymes the word with train.

I. With reference to the theatre.

1. The structure or area at the front of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre; spec. a three-dimensional structure or building (usually representing the outside of a house or temple) which provided a background to the performance; (also) the whole area set aside for the dramatic action, including both this background structure and the proscenium (proscenium n. 1a) where the actors stood; the stage. Now rare.Cf. scene building n. at Compounds and (with reference to Greek theatres) skene n.³, which are now the more common terms for this structure.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > parts of ancient Greek or Roman theatre

scenaa1387

scene1481

orchestra1606

proscenium1606

cavea1611

scenarioa1684

subselliuma1701

diazoma1706

parascenium1706

pavilion1730

hyposcenium1753

thymele1753

vomitorium1754

velarium1834

velum1843

1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. e5^v When the poetys syngen enterludes in playes or tragedyes of soroufull lamentacyons, or othir ditees in verses, in the place callid the scene [Fr. scene] or the teatre, the tent or pauilyon.

?1556 N. Smyth in tr. Herodian Hist. Annot. sig. Dd.iii^v The lower parte of y^e Scene was of Marble, and the stage in the myddes of Glasse.

1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 241 Apaturius Alabandeus made..a scene [L. scenam (Vitruvius)] with a neat hand, wherein he made images instead of columnes... He made moreover an upper-scene [L. episcenium (Vitruvius)], wherein the seelings of the porches, the halfe-house-tops were diversly adorned by the Painter.

1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 365 The Scene is oblong, jetting out six Paces more forward in the Front, than the Seats of the Spectators.

1749 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 3) VI. 59 The division for the actors was called in general the scene, or stage.

1777 W. Hamilton Acct. Discov. Pompeii 11 Close to the chapel of Isis is a theatre, no more of which has been cleared than the scene and the corridor that leads to the seats.

1825 Westm. Rev. Oct. 504 In the Roman theatres, the scene was as near as possible to the centre of the cavea, as they were principally intended for dramatic representations.

1863 C. T. Newton Hist. Discov. Halicarnassus II. ii. xvii. 443 I commenced by an excavation at A, in front of the Scene, of which the foundations are visible above the ground.

1901 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 3 May 452/1 In the classical theatre, the ‘scene’ included the whole stage, ‘proscenium’ and ‘postscenium’.

1924 A. Huxley Let. 29 Apr. (1969) 229 A Palladian theatre with fixed scene and various other delights.

1966 Mnemosyne 19 460 Opposite to the Altar Court a theatre was established c. 200 B.C. It functioned in connection with the Court, the façade of which replaced the scene of the theatre.

a. A sequence of dramatic action.

(a) A subdivision or section of a play or other dramatic work, esp. one forming a unit of action taking place at a single location and point in time. A scene most often constitutes a subdivision of an act (act n. 9a). Act and scene divisions are found in manuscripts of Plautus and Terence which date from the 4th and 5th centuries a.d. and may have been used at an earlier date. However, although many English writers appear to have been familiar with such divisions as used in classical and French neoclassical drama, the formal division of dramatic texts into acts and scenes does not seem to have become standard in English drama until at least the 1630s.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > scene

scenec1520

stage-scenea1822

c1520 tr. Terence Andria i. i, in Terens in Eng. sig. A.iii The furst scene of the furst Act.

1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus i. i. sig. Ciij^v All the versis of this scene be Senarii.

1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K^v And all shalbe concluded in one Scene, For theres no pleasure tane in tediousnes.

1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Scena... Also any one scene or entrance of a Comedie or Tragedie.

1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 20 [In the ancient drama] it is to be accounted a new Scene, not [1684 not only] every time the Stage is empty, but every person who enters, though to others, makes it so; because he introduces a new business.

1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric II. xlv. 496 The entrance of a new personage upon the Stage, forms what is called a New Scene.

?1865 T. W. Robertson Society 5 Act I. Scene I.—Sidney Daryl's Chambers, in Lincoln's Inn.

1906 Stud. Musical Educ., Hist. & Aesthetics 148 Momo's aria in Act I, Scene IV..exhibits a type that succeeding generations conventionalized.

1988 M. Charney Hamlet's Fictions ii. vii. 95 Act I, Scene iii is disturbing because underneath its comfortable and cozy domesticity lie threats and cajolery.

2004 R. Ramsbotham Who wrote Bacon? i. 15 Every play, act, scene and even speech of Shakespeare's is super-abundant in dramatic life.

(b) More generally: a sequence of continuous action, esp. one dealing with a particular incident, episode, or event, and typically forming part of a wider dramatic or narrative structure, such as a play, film, book, etc. Also: the action and dialogue comprising such a sequence.Some early figurative uses in sense 7 might be taken as this sense.deathbed scene, love scene, mad scene, sex scene, etc., see the first element.

ΚΠ

1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 31 The Scene betwixt Livia and the physician, which is a pleasant Satyre upon the artificial helps of beauty.

1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris Epil. Does not this poisoning Scene The sacred Rights of Tragedy prophane.

1767 Gentleman's Mag. June 316/1 As the nature of our musical entertainments would by no means admit of the length of his recitative, his scenes are so abridged, that not only the dialogue is mutilated, but the action is often precipitated.

1837 Brighton Patriot 26 Dec. The scene between Don Felix and Lisardo, when Flora escapes from his apartments..was also admirable.

a1861 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) I. 331 In one of Dryden's plays is a famous scene, in which he ridicules the fashionable jargon of the day.

1933 Amer. Lit. 4 386 I refer to the scene in chapter 13 of Book IV in which Arbaces conducts his arch-enemy Calenus through a subterranean passage-way.

1981 R. A. Armour in W. French South & Film 18 The Camerons are a family whose concern for each other motivates key scenes in the film.

2013 Daily Actor (Nexis) 11 Feb. You are required to play a scene in which the relationship is coming to an abrupt end.

†b. In plural. Scenes considered collectively; a play; dramatic writing. Cf. sense 4. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > as literary composition

play1440

stage playa1535

scenes1664

1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3^v Following the New way, I mean, of writing Scenes in Verse.

1712 G. Granville Poems 154 Our Author wou'd excuse these youthful Scenes, Begotten at his Entrance in his Teens.

†c. Music. = scena n. 2. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > opera > [noun] > scena

scene1825

tonadilla1830

scena1842

1825 J. F. Danneley Encycl. Music Scena or Scene, a piece of music composed of a recitative, an andante or a largo, a larghetto, and an agitato or allegro. The cavatine, or first air, is often separated by a couplet de recitatif. A scene may be for one or more voices.

a. Those pieces of scenery, such as painted hangings, screens, etc., which are used as a background on a theatre stage for the action of a play or other dramatic production, representing the location or setting in which it takes place; (as a count noun) any of the hangings, screens, etc., of which this is composed. Also figurative. Cf. scenery n. 2.In Elizabethan theatre, the curtain or hanging at the back of the stage, concealing the dressing room or green room, stood in lieu of such scenery. Painted scenes and elaborate machinery, the representation of buildings or landscape in perspective, etc., were a principal feature of the privately-produced masques of James I and Charles I and later of opera.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery

scene1540

scenery?1707

scene work1728

ethereality1819

décor1897

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery > view presented by

scene1540

stage-scene1664

mise-en-scène1831

inscenation1897

1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus Prol. sig. Bij In this scenyshe apparaylynge [L. In apparatu scaenico], i. the settying forth or trymming of our scenes, that is to saye (our places appoynted for our players to come forth of).

1608 B. Jonson Masque of Blacknesse in Characters Two Royall Masques sig. A3^v First, for the Scene, was drawne a Landtschap, consisting of small woods,..which falling, an artificiall sea was seene to shoote forth.

1618 B. Holyday Τεχνογαμια Prol. (margin) Here the vpper part of the Scene open'd, when straight appear'd a Heauen [etc.].

1656 W. Davenant (title) The Siege of Rhodes Made a Representation by the Art of Prospective in Scenes. And the Story sung in Recitative Musick.

1719 E. Young Busiris iv. 49 (stage direct.) The back Scene opens.

1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 18 Back fly the scenes, and enter foot and horse.

1748 D. Hume Philos. Ess. Human Understanding (1751) vii. 104 The Scenes of the Universe are continually shifting.

1814 Gonzanga v. v, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 161 All the characters appear lost in astonishment and terror as the scene closes them in.

1867 Athenæum 27 July 123/1 The final scene, painted by Mr. F. Lloyds, gives an excellent view of a Highland loch.

1904 Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 9/1 The opening of the doors at the back of the stage caused a draught which blew over a large fan-scene containing a number of incandescent lights.

1959 H. L. Griffin Attakapas Country xvii. 122 A French artist..who had been brought to New Orleans to paint the scenes in the French Opera House.

2013 E. Huhtamo Illusions in Motion iv. 136/3 The stage was wrapped from all three sides by a continuous curving painted scene.

b. The stage and its scenery considered together; the view presented to the audience at any time during the action of a performance by means of the scenery, lighting, etc.; the stage setting. In later use, with reference to film and television: the picture presented to the viewer at any time during a film or television programme, including aspects of filming, such as lighting, camera angles, etc. See also the scene opens at Phrases 2.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 2a(b).In quots. 1650, 1657 in plural with reference to a part of a Stuart masque in which elaborate scenery and lighting effects were used to create a purely visual spectacle.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > mime > tableau > [noun] > types of

scene1591

waterwork1604

pose plastique1845

1591 E. Spenser Teares of Muses in Complaints sig. F My part it is and my professed skill The Stage with Tragick buskin to adorne, And fill the Scene with plaint and outcries shrill Of wretched persons, to misfortune borne.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) Prol. 4 A Kingdome for a Stage, Princes to Act, And Monarchs to behold the swelling Scene .

1633 J. Shirley Triumph of Peace 7 A Curtaine being sodainly drawne up, the Sceane was discovered representing a large streete with Sumptuous Pallaces.

1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 51 An entertainment presented to the Countess Dowager of Darby..by some Noble persons of her Family, who appear on the Scene in pastoral habit.

1650 W. Davenant Pref. to Gondibert 15 Painted History, when with the cousenage of lights it is represented in Scenes, by which wee are much lesse inform'd then by actions on the Stage.

1657 W. Davenant First Days Entertainm. Rutland-House 17 Would you meet to be delighted with Scænes? which is, to be entertain'd with the deception of motion, and transposition of Lights; where, whilst you think you see a great Battel, you are sure to get nothing by the Victory.

1713 J. Dennis Remarks upon Cato 55 Let us come to the Scenary of the Fifth Act. Cato appears first upon the Scene, sitting in a thoughtful Posture.

1747 tr. Voltaire Ess. Trag. in W. Duncombe Lucius Junius Britus (ed. 2) 23 The Tragedy of Montezuma..open'd with a new and surprizing Scene, representing a Palace in a magnificent, but barbarous Taste. Montezuma was dress'd in a singular Habit. Slaves arm'd with Bows and Arrows were placed at the farther end of the Stage.

1849 Bell's Life in London 22 Apr. 3/1 As the favourite prima donna entered on the scene as the Assyrian Queen, she was received with a burst of enthusiastic welcome.

1893 Town Topics 28 Dec. 20/2 The scene depicts a strike of employees at the stock yards. Forty live bullocks are on the stage.

1947 Hollywood Q. 3 49/1 A life-size close-up of Barnes, leader of the bandits, firing point-blank at the audience. [‘This scene,’ says the catalogue, ‘can be used to begin or end the picture.’].

1969 Enactment (Delhi) Oct. 8/1 Close-up. Peevish face of the pan-chewing Babu, answering him reluctantly, all the time looking at a tram car off the scene.

1985 Shakespeare Q. 36 481/1 Pandarus sat down for his Epilogue, and various women crept across the scene behind him.

2011 Screen Internat. (Nexis) 20 May Beautifully composed scenes, with cinematographer Hans Bruch Jr often using long shots to emphasise the wide, barren, landscape.

†4. A stage performance; a play or part of a play in representation on the stage. Also in figurative contexts. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun] > dramatic performance

scene1572

representation?1589

presentationa1616

scene work1642

dramatics1796

dramaticalc1826

dramaturgy1837

theatricalitya1871

stage-work1906

1572 T. Churchyard tr. Ovid Thre First Bookes De Tristibus ii. f. 17 The royall eyes wherewyth thou do, the totall world beholde, Thadultrye vile haue gladly seene, which that in Scene is tolde [L. scaenica vidisti lentus adulteria].

1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K4 To die to day, for (fashioning our scene) The death of Aiax,..And in a minute starting vp againe, Reuiue to please to morrowes audience.

1608 Merry Deuill of Edmonton Prol. 3 Your silence and attention, worthy friends, That your free spirits may with more pleasing sense Relish the life of this our actiue sceane.

1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a2^v The Poet who Flourish'd in the Scene, is damn'd in the Ruelle.

1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. vii. 89 O Garrick! what a rich scene of this would thy exquisite powers make!

1814 Orpheus i. ii, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 292 They crowd the trembling poet's scene.

5. The place in which some or all of the action of a dramatic work is supposed to occur; the location or setting of a play, opera, novel, etc. Frequently in to change the scene, to shift the scene. Cf. to lay the (also one's) scene at Phrases 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > setting or locality of play

scene1592

stage-room1642

stagea1649

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (intransitive)] > locate a scene > change scene

to shift the scenea1616

1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K2^v Well doon Balthazar, hang vp the title. Our scene is Rhodes.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. 0. 42 Vnto Southampton do we shift our Scene .

1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 43 He has remov'd the Scene in the same Act, from Rome to Catiline's Army, and from thence again to Rome.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 357. ¶7 Asia, Africk, and Europe are the several Scenes of his [sc. Virgil's] Fable.

1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iii. Observ. 157 The Scene is now remov'd from Ithaca to Pylos.

1835 Court Mag. July 29/1 Lord Byron..compliments Rousseau on the taste and judgment he has displayed in selecting the scene of the ‘Nouvelle Heloise’.

1908 E. F. Knight Over-sea Brit. 276 It is supposed that Shakespeare, who wrote The Tempest in 1611, had the scene for his play suggested to him by the published description of Sir George Somers' disaster.

1962 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Oct. 810/5 The vocal perspective is ingeniously varied to suggest the changing scene, but the fortissimo passages are occasionally marred by post-echo.

2011 Jrnl. Irish Stud. 26 26 When the scene of the novel moves to England, O'Donnel again has to witness the hollowness of English ‘bon ton’.

†6. Dramatic performance as an art, institution, or profession; the theatre; the stage. Usually with the. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun]

sock and buskin1597

scene1616

drama1661

theatre1668

dramatics1684

dramaturgy1801

proscenium1812

1616 B. Jonson Epicœne Prol. in Wks. I. 530 The endes of all, who for the Scene doe write, Are, or should be, to profit, and delight.

1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 370 For those [athletic] games had such an officer belonging to them... But whoever heard of such an officer belonging to the Scene?

1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a3 I have more than once already maintain'd the Rights of my two Masters [sc. Homer and Virgil] against their Rivals of the Scene, even while I wrote Tragedies my self.

1713 A. Pope Prol. to Cato in Guardian No. 33. Our Scene precariously subsists too long On French Translation, and Italian Song.

1761 C. Churchill Rosciad 14 Giddy with praise, and puff'd with female pride, She quits the tragic scene.

II. Figurative, metaphorical, and other extended uses.

7. A sequence of action or events, esp. one forming a segment of a longer series.Often in extended metaphors likening real-life situations to those in a dramatic production; cf. sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > situation in a play

scene1567

incident1695

situation1754

1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxiii. f. 191^v But hearken now the most sorowfull scene of all y^e tragedie... The two ministers of iniquitie did like murder & slaughter vpon those two tender babes, as they committed vpon their mother.

1577 G. Whetstone Remembraunce Gaskoigne B iij b His Sean is played, you folowe on the act.

1592 R. Greene Philomela sig. F Til Fortune..enter into the Theater of Philomelas lyfe, and beganne to act a balefull seane in this manner.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 72 We are now to present you upon the Asiatique stage, various Scænes compos'd of a miscelany of subjects.

1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. Y2 Nature has pre-compos'd us both to Love; Your part's to grant; my Scean must be to move.

1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. xii. 65 To wind up the last scene of thy tragedy, Cruelty and Cowardice..shall strike together at all thy infirmities and mistakes.

1833 Relig. Intelligencer June 74/1 The closing scene of this remarkable trial is said by those who witnessed it to possess surpassing interest.

1887 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 644 The fourth quarter is here, and Old Age, a feeble, bent figure, hobbles out, pauses wearily at the bell, raises a crutch, and taps four strokes, and totters away out of sight—‘last scene of all’.

1965 Past & Present 31 28 [The revolt in Bohemia] had a strong tinge of at least elemental nationalism..; it was simultaneously the opening scene of the Reformation.

2001 Ebony Sept. 189 (advt.) When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

a. The setting or context in which events unfold or current action is concentrated; the sphere or arena of activity; the focus of events. In later use often in to come (also arrive) on the scene and variants.Originally in extended metaphors presenting a real-life setting as a figurative stage or stage setting; cf. sense 3b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails

nestc1390

grounda1400

seat1565

scene1593

locus in quoa1638

the scene of (the) action1650

sitea1657

venuea1843

1593 T. Lodge Phillis sig. A4 I That obscur'd haue fled the Sceane of Fame.

1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 125 True vertuous actions, are neuer seene vpon the Scene, but when by the necessitie of Lawes, they are enforced to show themselues.

1652 A. Ross Hist. World vi. xvii. 441 In Russia great commotions were raised by one Demetrius... He appearing on the Scene, gave out that he was hid in Monasteries, and educated by the Jesuits, that he might be the more inabled for Government.

1659 in C. H. Firth Clarke Papers (1901) IV. 294 The persones in the proclamacion mencioned having made this citty parte of their scene to act their designe upon.

1781 Gentleman's & London Mag. Jan. 27/2 The next time Arnold appeared on the scene, was in August the same year, marching to the relief of Fort Stanwix then besieged by colonel St. Leger.

1790 G. Gregory Hist. Christian Church II. 133 Thus were the two chiefs of this deplorable war taken off the scene.

1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. S. Afr. ix. 181 My arrival on the scene was felt to be so much weight in the scale.

1889 Field 19 Jan. 67/3 Whereupon Mr. Calvert's solicitor came upon the scene, with a demand for an undertaking not to offend again.

1926 Melody Maker Sept. 61 Since ‘Nelly Kelly's Cabaret’ came on the scene, it's put fresh kick into dancing.

1946 G. S. Rosenthal & F. Zachery Jazzways 16 By 1907, Bolden had disappeared from the scene, confined to an insane asylum.

1979 ‘E. Ferrars’ Witness before Fact xv. 150 I don't know what things were like for you before he arrived on the scene, perhaps not so good.

2011 T. Ronald Becoming Nancy (2012) iii. 45 Abigail Henson arrives on the scene clutching a large bag of overly ketchupped chips.

b. The physical site or setting at which a particular event occurs; the location of a specific occurrence, activity, etc.accident scene, crime scene: see the first element. See also the scene of the crime at Phrases 8a.

ΚΠ

a1658 J. Cleveland Clievelandi Vindiciæ (1677) 130 The Sand was always the Scene of Quarrelling.

1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy Pref. sig. A3^v There is [not]..so much as a Mountain or River that has not been the Scene of some extraordinary Action.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 3 Paris, the scene of her former happiness.

1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It viii. 73 We crossed the sand hills near the scene of the Indian mail robbery and massacre of 1856, wherein the driver and conductor perished.

1884 Manch. Examiner 16 Feb. 4/6 West Somerset was the scene, yesterday, of the first contested county election under the provisions of the Corrupt Practices Act.

1932 Tyrone (Pa.) Daily Herald 28 Jan. 1/2 Every available rescue appliance and piece of diving apparatus that might be of service was rushed to the scene.

1957 J. C. Adams Outl. Fractures ii. 39 If morphia or a similar drug is given at the scene of the accident a note to that effect should be sent with the patient when he is admitted to hospital.

2011 Independent 3 Oct. 29/1 The victim, who was not identified, refused medical treatment at the scene, police said.

†c. The world; human life or existence. Chiefly in the (also this) scene of things. Obsolete. Cf. to quit the scene at Phrases 5a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > present life

worldeOE

this lifeOE

world-lifeOE

sithea1225

journey?c1225

pilgrimagec1384

weeping-dalec1400

valec1446

peregrinationc1475

scene1662

shades1816

earth life1842

macro-world1968

1662 H. More Coll. Several Philos. Writings Pref. Gen. p. xxv Which makes..the whole scene of things evidently to begin from Adam.

1681 Bp. S. Parker Demonstr. Divine Authority 112 Who would enter upon this tragical Scene of things onely to appear and so return into dust and silence?

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 61 The known Course of human Things, the Scene we are now passing through.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Ess. & Lett. (1840) I. 225 Life..strips, as it were, the painted curtain from this scene of things.

1870 J. H. Newman Ess. Gram. Assent ii. viii. 261 This universal living scene of things is after all as little a logical world as it is a poetical.

d. Chiefly with distinguishing word: a particular sphere or aspect of human activity; an area of interest, action, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs > sphere of activity

fieldOE

limitationc1405

hemisphere?1504

ambitudea1525

world1580

orb1598

spherea1616

ambit1649

scene1737

orblet1841

front1917

parish1940

ballpark1963

shtick1965

1737 B. Stillingfleet Ess. Conversat. 4 From the lone Closet to the social Scene; There view her loud, affected, scornful, sour, Paining herself, and paining others more.

1807 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 90/2 A very prominent figure on the political scene.

1844 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 22 June 385/1 The pride of class and individual state tend to make many members of the social scene appear extremely unimportant.

1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Oct. 786/3 Mr. Masters..is no optimistic observer of the contemporary American scene.

1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn i. v. 52 If Rick had grown up in the present scene he'd probably have had his head perpetually inside a walnut radio cabinet listening to this one or that one playing a tea dance.

1959 L. Lipton Holy Barbarians i. i. 40 Something was happening on the poetry scene in Venice West.

1977 Listener 17 Feb. 214/2 Without that little building at Swiss Cottage..London's theatre scene would be much duller.

2011 C. Moran How to be Woman (2012) vii. 136 The guys look around at the music scene of the time—all grunge or Blur or whatever—and despair, ‘Jesus..! We've just got to get..some women!’

e. slang (originally U.S.). A place where people of common interests, outlook, etc., meet or where a particular activity is carried on. Hence: a social environment or milieu characterized by a particular activity, pursuit, way of life, etc., esp. when considered fashionable. Also occasionally: a social event held by a particular group; a get-together. to be (also go) on the scene (and variants): to be or become active within a particular social environment; to take part in an activity, esp. drug-taking.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > [noun] > where an action or pursuit is carried on

scene1950

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair

charec897

matter?c1225

journeya1352

affairc1390

notea1400

incident1485

concernment1495

actiona1500

business1524

concern1680

job1680

ploya1689

show1797

game1812

caper1839

pigeon dropping1850

shebang1869

hoodoo1876

racket1880

palaver1899

scene1964

1950 E. Paul Springtime in Paris vi. 141 ‘Nobody comes on this scene wearin' any green,’ said another taller Negro.

1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xxi. 179 Something on the scene you don't dig.

1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xxi. 179 It was a bad scene. It scared me, man.

1964 New Society 20 Feb. 8/2 What happens to the young drug taker? It can be described..by actually going through the experience, going ‘on the scene’.

1967 Punch 18 Oct. 574/3 They come here to work because it's exciting and new and because it's the scene.

1968 M. Richler Cocksure xiii. 74 Like we're having a scene on Saturday night. At Timothy's pad.

1969 Oz Apr. 32/1 We've all got different scenes. The whole thing is to get to know each other's trips... Are you on an acid scene?

1977 I. Shaw Beggarman, Thief i. viii. 101 He could take a look at the scene and blow if he didn't like it.

1997 N.Y. Mag. 6 Jan. 43/1 A male model visiting from Tokyo nurses a beer and surveys the transvestites around him. ‘This is a really wild scene, man.’

2013 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 18 Oct. 42 When we started out only a few people came to our gigs, but all of them went on to do something cultural, usually in music or fashion. It was an exciting scene, that's for sure.

f. colloquial (chiefly British, esp. in gay and lesbian usage). A social environment frequented predominantly by homosexuals; gay and lesbian bars, clubs, etc., as a social milieu (sense 8e). Usually with the. Cf. non-scene adj.gay scene: see gay adj., adv., and n. Compounds 2b.

ΚΠ

1958 Look 19 Aug. 65/2 The regulars who ‘make the scene’. ‘The scene’, geographically, is a narrow area running about four blocks along Grant Avenue in San Francisco's North Beach district.

1969 Jeremy 1 iii. 25/1 At the upper-end of the scene is the kept-boy who has little or nothing in common with the humbler ‘rent-boy’.

1988 J. Cockburn Lonely Hearts xi. 210 For many gays the scene is their world and their spiritual home.

1990 Rouge Winter 23/1 There was much more socialising in those days than there is now. Mind you, I don't go out into the scene now, because the scene bores me.

1998 Gay Times Aug. 28/4 (advt.) Medium-built, straight-acting M, 22, likes pubs & clubs, not into the scene. WLTM M, similar age, for friendship.

2006 Diva Feb. 60/1 After coming to terms with your own sexuality and then coming out to straight friends and family, you'd expect to be welcomed into the scene with open arms.

g. With preceding possessive adjective: a person's particular sphere of interest or enjoyment; the context, environment, or milieu within which a person feels most comfortable. Frequently in not one's scene.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment

mirtha1250

solacec1290

recreationc1400

esbatement1477

pastime1490

pastancea1500

passe-temps1542

entertainment1561

relief?1578

fancy1590

sport1598

abridgement1600

entertain1601

recreative1615

amusatory1618

nutsa1625

diverter1628

recreator1629

passatempo1632

amuser1724

fun1726

dissipation1733

resource1752

distraction1859

enlivening1859

good, clean fun1867

enlivenment1883

light relief1885

laugh1921

not one's scene1962

violon d'Ingres1963

1962 H. Doughty Francis Parkman ii. 64 The eastern forest, not the plains of the West, was his scene, and he here came closest to its heart.

1975 D. Lodge Changing Places ii. 84 Washing up was more his scene than body language.

1999 T. Parsons Man & Boy (2000) vi. 48 It's not really my scene.

2005 Z. Smith On Beauty 388 Aw..I'm doing a little but..I don't know, man, the rap game..it's all gangstas and playas now..that's not my scene.

a. An incident, an event; an episode; a situation.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > episode

scene1605

episode1773

page1822

1605 Hist. Tryall Cheualry sig. C3 My throbbing heart, Like to a Scritchowle in the midnight houre, Bodes some blacke scene of mischiefe imminent.

1679 Season. Adv. Protest. 3 The Roman Party was never wanting in any bloudy Scene to destroy Christ's Disciples.

1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xlii. 44 And 'tis a Pleasant Scene enough, when Thieves fall out among themselves, to see the Cutting of One Diamond with Another.

1766 in 3rd Rep. Comm. E. India Company & Brit. Affairs in E. Indies (1773) App. 74 We think the vast fortunes acquired in the inland trade have been obtained by a scene of the most tyrannic and oppressive conduct that ever was known in any age or country.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 264 You were not made for scenes of danger.

1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter I. vii. 133 A scene followed, the like of which is often enacted in higher places, and by more important personages.

1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 78 Not at all disconcerted by the scene that had just occurred, the wily Roman undertook to justify himself.

1878 R. Simpson School of Shakspere I. 29 Then he disappears from this scene in his career.

1932 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 62 206 I would conclude that where the same scene is re-enacted time after time the playing out may be compared with the rituals of obsessional neurotics.

2002 M. B. Maher Gifts from Shane xix. 248 We spend one entire day just driving around, recalling scenes from the past, and pointing out who lives where now.

b. An episode, situation, etc., forming a subject of narration or description. Frequently in titles of literary works.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > plot > episode or situation

scene1645

episode1679

situation1754

1645 J. Milton Passion iv, in Poems 17 These latter [1673: latest] scenes confine my roving vers.

1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 93 Say, Shepherd, say, Are these Reflections true? Or was it but the Woman's Fear, that drew This cruel Scene; unjust to Love and You?

1790 G. Davis (title) Saint Monday; or Scenes from Low-life.

1850 F. E. Smedley (title) Frank Fairlegh, or scenes from the life of a private pupil.

1858 ‘G. Eliot’ (title) Scenes of Clerical Life.

1961 ‘W. Cooper’ (title) Scenes from married life.

2013 V. Klinkenborg (title) More scenes from the rural life.

10.

a. A view or picture presented to the eye or mind of a place, incident, series of events, etc. Frequently with of.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > scene

picturea1538

scene1645

1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 12 This divine blessing..strait vanishes like a fair skie and brings on such a scene of cloud and tempest, as turns all to shipwrack without havn or shoar but to a ransomles captivity.

1653 Bp. J. Taylor XXV Serm. i. 11 This is the greatest Scene of Majesty that shall be in that [i.e. the last] day, till the Sentence bee pronounced.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 249 At last all vanished, leaving a scene of..lovely trees.

1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 216 About Eight Miles Distance from Naples lyes a very noble Scene of Antiquities.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1787) III. xxx. 171 This scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a desert.

1797 A. Radcliffe Italian II. ii. 83 The travellers stopped to admire the scene.

1828 ‘H. S. Van Dyk’ Light Guitar in Melodist & Mirthful Olio II. 298 O, leave the gay and festive scenes, The halls of dazzling light.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxii. 275 We of peaceful London City, have never beheld..such a scene of hurry and alarm, as that which Brussels presented.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 72 The scene outside was at once wild, grand, and beautiful.

1910 W. H. Koebel Argentina (1911) xxiv. 295 The rounding of a bend reveals a domestic scene.

1992 Oldie 21 Feb. 24/1 You may know the scene. Teenager in muddy trainers clomps over clean floor, burgles fridge as if it were his right.

2005 New Nation 26 Sept. 12/1 Picture the scene: you're on a private beach, it's 32 degrees in the shade, and a waiter serves you an ice-cold strawberry daiquiri.

†b. An image or idea of something expected or anticipated in the future; a prospect. Chiefly in to open the (also a) scene of. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > [noun] > preview, foretaste

arlesc1220

earnestc1225

forelook1357

foresight1422

foretaste1435

earnest pennya1438

before-tasting1526

prelibation1526

tasting1526

promise?1533

say1549

to-looka1572

handsel1573

assay1597

antepast1604

prefruitiona1631

cue1647

pregustation1656

pregustator1670

scene1691

tint1768

outlook1823

fore-view1831

preview1882

1691 R. Ames Char. Bigotted Prince 4 The then Prince of Orange, who by his coming seem'd to open the Scene of a new World, and restore the English to the Poet's time of the Golden Age again.

1692 W. Lowth Vindication iii. 164 They [sc. prophets] do not open the Scene of things to come, only to gratify a Vain Curiosity..but to assure us that God interests himself in the Government of the World.

1762 T. Mortimer Every Man his own Broker (ed. 5) 173 Light Horse [otherwise called ‘scrip’]..is the Commodity to Jobb with, and opens a most extensive scene of it.

11. A display of exaggerated or melodramatic behaviour; a public exhibition of emotion or strong feeling; a fuss. See also Phrases 7.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > [noun]

motiona1387

humour1579

mania1689

scene1764

sensation1765

agitation1769

1764 S. Foote Lyar iii. ii. 61 My father has got to the bottom of the whole Abington business. Pap. The deuce! Y. Wild. We parted this moment. Such a scene!

1812 Ld. Byron Let. 27 Dec. (1973) II. 264 I suspect from what you say & what I have heard that there will be a scene.

1844 B. Disraeli Coningsby III. viii. vii. 257 From an anticipatory horror of something like a scene.

1921 Everybody's Sept. 85/2 At first the old gentleman refused to accept my apologies. There was quite a scene.

1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard viii. 255 Two of them rose and followed him out. ‘Don't let's have a scene,’ one of the Rubber Heels said... The other ran his hands over Sneed's jacket.

2010 Daily Rec. (Nexis) 8 Apr. 43 My mum lost her temper and told her she was a sponging hypochondriac and it was time she grew up. There was a huge scene and crying.

†III. An object thought to resemble or evoke the stage or its scenery.

12. A raised platform. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > quality of being raised or elevated > raised level surface or platform

plancher1295

staging1323

cagea1400

scaffoldc1405

mounture?a1425

halpace1507

wharf1533

platform1557

plat1559

foot pace1571

theatre1587

scenec1612

estrade1696

suggestum1705

tribune1763

scaffolding1787

estrado1838

dais1861

deck1872

c1612 W. Strachey Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) i. vi. 78 By their howses, they have sometymes A Scæne or high Stage raised like a Scaffold..covered with Matts, which..is a Shelter and serves for such a Covered place, where men vsed in old tyme to sitt and talke.

13. A curtain; (also) a decorative screen. Cf. sense 3a Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > [noun] > tapestry > for hanging

painted cloth1389

halling1418

parlouring1496

scene1638

painting cloth1668

stamped leather1819

hanger-

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain

curtainc1320

riddelc1380

saya1382

serge1382

veilinga1398

traverse1400

veil1567

purdah1621

scene1638

drapes1908

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 138 When the greene and crimson scænes [1677 curtains or scenes] of silke were drawne, from this Apollo, wee lookt into a great square court.

1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. G3 Out-side silk, and out-side Lawne; Sceanes to cheat us neatly drawne.

1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 194 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors Instead of Tapistry, they have a kinde of Scenes or Shutters, which serve them also for Pictures.

14. Each of a number of groups or layers of clouds appearing one above the other. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > [noun] > a cloud > (mass of) clouds > piled up

scene1686

1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. xv. 83 Frosty, mist, fair; clouds in scenes.

15. A screen which can be attached to a telescope at a distance from the eyepiece so that an image (esp. of the sun) can be projected on it. Cf. scene-plate n. at Compounds. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for projecting image > [noun] > screen for reception of projected images

scene1706

screen1739

split screen1953

1706 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 25 2237 A Sevenfoot Telescope was fitted up with a Scene to receive the Species of the Sun cast through it.

Phrases

P1. to lay the (also one's) scene: to establish the background, setting, or context for a play, story, account, etc.; (also figurative) to create the necessary conditions for a future event, action, etc. (cf. lay v.¹ 20b). Cf. to set the scene at Phrases 9.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (intransitive)] > locate a scene

to lay the (also one's) scene1597

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet Prol. 2 In faire Verona, where we lay our Scene .

1648 T. Stephens tr. Statius Thebais ii. 52 These creepe the neerest way, by paths unseen, Through shrubs, and crosse the woods: Then lay their scene For villany.

a1749 S. Boyse New Pantheon (1753) x. 22 This Engagement is differently related by Authors..some Writers laying the Scene in Italy..others in Greece.

1825 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 1/2 In a recent performance.., where the scene is laid in the reign of George II, John Duke of Argyll..is by a strange and peculiar felicity of retroposition, attired in the Vandyke dress of the time of Charles I.

1939 H. W. Wells Elizabethan & Jacobean Playwrights ii. 35 The playwright lays his scene in no particular city or period of history.

2010 Independent (Nexis) 3 Apr. 48 The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, which laid the scene for the American Civil War by setting out the arguments over slavery and the rights of black people.

P2. the scene opens and variants [compare French ouvrir la scène (1690)] : (in early use) the stage setting is revealed; (later more generally) the action begins.Originally used literally, and chiefly in stage directions, with reference to the opening of a curtain or screen concealing or forming part of the scenery of a play; in later use influenced by sense 2a and open v. 17b.

ΚΠ

1623 B. Jonson Time Vindicated sig. B2 (stage direct.) Loud Mvsiqve. To which the whole Scene opens, where Saturne sitting with Venus is discouer'd aboue.

1673 E. Settle Empress of Morocco i. 1 (stage direct.) Scene opens, Muly Labas appears bound in Chains.

1693 T. Rymer Short View Trag. sig. B7^v The Scene opening presents 15 Grandees of Spain.

1767 A. Campbell Sale of Authors iii. 165 (stage direct.) Scene opens, Apollo, Booksellers, &c. at Table, with Wine, &c. before them.

1865 A. Thomas On Guard I. ii The first scene opened on a somnorific, sultry summer afternoon in London.

1877 W. W. Fowler Woman on Amer. Frontier x. 224 The scene opens with a view of three white-tilted Conestoga wagons..each drawn by four pair of oxen rumbling along through a plain.

1938 Times 24 June 14/2 The first scene..opened with villagers..watching their children playing ‘Hot Cockles’.

1979 R. McMillan All in Good Faith ii. i. 53 (stage direct.) The scene opens in the middle of a crowded party; everyone is well-oiled.

2002 M. Cousins Scene by Scene 45/1 The scene opens as Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon), dressed in 1920s fashion as Josephine and Daphne, board the train to Florida.

P3. the scene of (the) action: the place (real or metaphorical) which is the location, setting, or focus of events or activity (cf. sense 8a, 8b); spec. the site of military action (see action n. 18).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails

nestc1390

grounda1400

seat1565

scene1593

locus in quoa1638

the scene of (the) action1650

sitea1657

venuea1843

1650 C. Elderfield Civil Right Tythes xxxii. 277 Things that had their proper scene of action and agitation elsewhere in another room.

1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Tt3/3 There will be the Scene of Action this Campaigne, ce sera là le Theatre de la Guerre.

1730 C. Lamotte Ess. Poetry & Painting ii. 71 As to the Scene of the Action: This, without any just Reason, is represented to be a Stable, where Oxen and Asses are seen tied to the Manger.

1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter I. vii. 138 It was clear she could not quit the scene of action.

1876 S. Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 24 The riverine navies of Egypt floated to the scene of action.

1927 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 19 July 2/4 As soon as the planes reached the scene of the action the machine gunners directed a heavy fire against the rebel positions.

1967 Econ. Devel. & Cultural Change 15 318 The financing agencies, being close to the spot, could judge the project much better than the centralized agency far away from the scene of action.

2002 P. Foos Short, Offhand, Killing Affair 196 This included teamsters, musicians, and soldiers who had served for extremely brief periods or who had merely traveled to the scene of action.

P4. behind the scenes.

a. Behind the stage or the scenery of a theatre where the public is not usually admitted; out of sight of the audience; (hence) so as to see or understand the process of making a film or television show; on a film set.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adverb] > behind stage

behind the scenes1668

behind1824

backstage1898

1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 32 Things hapning in the Action of the Play, and suppos'd to be done behind the Scenes.

1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1749 I. 106 She was carried off to be put to death behind the scenes.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. viii. 178 Those who are behind the scenes are not to be dazzled by the tinsel of the property-man.

1919 Boston Sunday Globe 15 June 48/2 (heading) Behind the scenes at the movies. Just how the pictures are made told in detail from scenario to screen.

1920 Punch 10 Mar. 197/1 Operatics. It has been suggested before now that Opera might be improved if the singing were done behind the scenes and the performance on the stage were carried out in dumb show by competent actors.

1984 Back Stage 21 Sept. 26/2 A new television commercial that takes viewers behind-the-scenes of Showtime's programming.

2006 Time Out N.Y. 9 Mar. 87/3 This documentary goes behind the scenes at a production of The Tempest.

b. figurative and in extended use: (a) in secret, away from public view or scrutiny; in the background; (b) so as to gain insight into the inner workings of something.

ΚΠ

1685 J. Dryden tr. Lucretius Nature of Love in Sylvæ 90 Well they understand like cunning Queans; And hide their nastiness behind the Scenes.

1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1102 I, who have been behind the scenes, both of pleasure and business.

1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee v, in Tales Fashionable Life V. 355 Miss Pratt..had obtained the entrée to a number of great houses, and was behind the scenes in many fashionable families.

1931 J. Galsworthy Maid in Waiting vi. 42 Saxenden is a big noise behind the scenes in military matters.

2012 New Yorker 3 Sept. 41/3 Behind the scenes, the police worked up an Operational and Raid Plan, which involved more than a dozen local and federal agents.

c. attributive (usually with hyphens). Of, relating to, or designating activity taking place away from public view; (of a person) that acts or works in the background.

ΚΠ

1820 J. Waldie Sketches Descriptive of Italy I. xxiii. 342 I may well call the religious ceremonies of Rome a performance—for they are really like acting—with this difference, that the spectators are admitted both before and behind the scenes, or rather that the behind-the-scenes-work is done before their eyes.

1916 E. V. Lucas Vermilion Box 171 This was not a mere idle rumour bearer..but one with friends of behind the scenes knowledge.

1955 H. Roth Sleeper ix. 69 His behind-the-scenes directors must have trusted him.

1961 John o' London's 5 Oct. 374/2 His political novel tells the story of the behind-the-scenes struggle for power.

2012 Daily Tel. 5 July 22/1 The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, in which he also has a major behind-the-scenes role.

P5.

a. to quit the scene: to leave the place where events are happening or action taking place; to go away; (frequently figurative) to die (cf. sense 8c).

ΚΠ

1692 R. Ames Elegy Death Rear-Admiral Carter (single sheet) If from Fates Jaws could Vertue save, Or Courage rescue from the Grave, Carter would ne're have quit the Scene.

1760 Crit. Rev. Feb. 136 Sylvia having eyed them from behind a thicket, advances when they quit the scene.

1838 J. D'Alton Hist. County of Dublin 19 The justice of Agricola's apprehensions, and the prudence of his policy, were fated to be evinced in a few ages after himself had quit the scene.

1975 Change 7 47/1 While the prognosis, by and large, is surprisingly upbeat, the skeptics have not quit the scene altogether.

2010 R. Morris Lighting Out for Territory v. 146 When Norton himself quit the scene in 1880, thirty thousand mourners filed past his coffin while flags across the city flew at half-mast and the San Francisco Chronicle mourned: ‘Le Roi Est Mort!’

b. Originally U.S. slang. to make the scene and variants: (a) to arrive at or go to a place; to participate in an event or activity (cf. sense 8e); (b) to come to prominence, esp. within a certain sphere of activity; to be successful.

ΚΠ

1954 A. Ginsberg Let. 26 Nov. in J. Kerouac & A. Ginsberg Lett. (2010) 252 Please leave time free to see me, we will make all the possible scenes, Montmarte and Village.

1957 N.Y. Times Mag. 18 Aug. 26/3 Scene, any place where musicians play or gather; by extension, any place where people meet or any event they attend. Thus, ‘Let's make the country scene this week-end.’

1964 Billboard 5 Sept. 6/1 Until the Beatles made the scene early this year, many tradesters were saying that the era of the million-selling single was passed.

1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard viii. 202 Billie would eventually get the sheet changed..or Mrs Basil, whoever made the scene first.

2004 B. Frazer in N. M. Grace & R. C. Johnson Breaking Rule of Cool 130 Small time poets just making the scene at readings or in little mags.

2013 J. Ross Outside Wire xvii. 195 By the time we made the scene the surrounding jungle was hot and silent.

P6.

change of scene n. the action or fact of moving to different surroundings, esp. in order to restore or improve one's mental or physical well being; (now more usually) an instance of such a change; = change of scenery n. at scenery n. Phrases 1.In early use not a fixed collocation.

ΚΠ

?1792 I. Pigot Let. in A. Leslie Mrs. Fitzherbert (1960) ix. 87 She says her spirits are so damped and her nerves so bad, she must go out to..soothe her mind by change of scene and country.

1815 T. S. Surr Magic of Wealth II. 260 Its half the pleasure of going to these sort of places.—If one comes by the way of getting a change of scene like, and a little recreation from the shop.

1824 Scenes & Thoughts 14 My tender parents..proposed that I should go some little excursion, hoping that change of scene would complete my re-establishment.

1889 Harper's Mag. July 234/1 Papa Graystone vowed that the lovely invalid should have change of air, change of scene, and repose without a moment's delay—now—instantly.

1934 A. Huxley Let. 5 Mar. (1969) 378 I feel in need of a change of scene, being stickily entangled in a novel I can't quite find a satisfactory machinery for.

1988 H. Thomas Klara (1990) li. 255 Charlie Grew decided that he needed a change of scene.

2000 N.Y. Times 31 Dec. v. 11/1 She..seems to know what city dwellers most need: a total change of scene, a chance to slow down, let go and, as the Jamaicans say, cool out.

P7.

a. to make a scene of: to treat (an event, situation, etc.) with undue fuss or emotion, esp. for effect; to make a commotion about (an incident, experience, etc.). Chiefly in to make a scene of it.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > stir up or maintain public excitement [verb (intransitive)]

to make a scene of1804

agitate1828

to raise Cain1840

to whoop things up1873

1804 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 169 The reconciliation should be accompanied with éclat, and..it was intended to make a scene of it.

1861 Knickerbocker July 37 She determined to surrender, but still resolved to make a scene of it. She accordingly..suddenly burst into tears, and flung herself into his arms, sobbing violently.

1916 Cosmopolitan Feb. 439/1 I should like to suggest that you an Lord Henry have you explanations in private. It seems to me..rather indecent to make a scene of it—like this.

1983 S. R. Lawhead Dream Thief xix. 394 Most people do not care to make a scene of their public disgrace.

2006 in Jrnl. Hist. Sexuality (2007) 16 9 It [sc. homosexuality] was an issue, if we made a scene of it, but so was drinking.

b. to make (also cause, create) a scene [compare French faire une scène (à quelqu'un) : see to make (a person) a scene at Phrases 7c] : to indulge in a public display of emotion or strong feeling; to cause a fuss or commotion; cf. sense 11.

ΚΠ

1820 ‘Lady Humdrum’ Domest. Scenes II. 248 ‘For goodness' sake!’ cried Laura, ‘don't let us make a scene here!’

1880 E. Scott-Stevenson Our Home in Cyprus xi. 130 She created quite ‘a scene’. When told she must bring her baby again, she gesticulated, and passionately exclaimed that ‘no one should drag her there’.

1888 Poor Nellie 34 You made a regular scene.

1916 D. Haig Diary 23 Oct. in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 245 He was afraid that Joffre, being an ‘underbred individual’ might make a scene on account of my last letter to him.

1995 C. Coulter Valentine Legacy ix. 93 There was no reason to cause a scene in the middle of the Blanchards' ballroom.

2003 J. Drury Ian Dury & Blockheads iv. 82 This was a reference to the fact that I didn't mind ruffling feathers in the studio and making a scene to get my own way.

c. to make (a person) a scene [compare French faire une scène à quelqu'un (1782)] : to confront (a person) with a public display of emotion or strong feeling; to berate or reproach (a person) about something. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiv. 589 Madame de Belladonna made him a scene about you, and fired off in one of her furies.

1866 H. Kingsley Leighton Court xxvii. 96 Once she had made him a scene, but it was no use: the more she stormed the more he laughed.

1908 H. James Portrait of Lady (rev. ed.) I. ix. 112 Was Lord Warburton suddenly turning romantic—was he going to make her a scene, in his own house, only the third time they had met?

1932 E. C. Mayne tr. C. Du Bos Byron & Need of Fatality vi. 276 Byron went to Annabella's room for the purpose of making her a scene about the actresses, and an extremely violent one.

1970 N. Marsh When in Rome (1971) 105 She certainly made him a scene.

P8.

a. the scene of the crime: the location at which a crime has been committed; (also figurative) the place where something bad or significant occurred or originated. Cf. crime scene n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails > specific

the scene of the crime1816

society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a crime > place where crime committed

the scene of the crime1816

1816 Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1814 7 362/1 It chanced that a stranger..lodged in a house opposite to the scene of the crime.

1884 L. H. Griffin Great Republ. 148 He was taken to the scene of the crime by a lynching party.

1923 A. Christie Murder on Links iv. 51 Now, Monsieur Poirot, you would without doubt like to visit the scene of the crime.

1958 B. Hope in Boston Daily Globe 19 Sept. 10/2 I love [state] fairs... It's like getting back to my original business... I like to sneak back to the scene of the crime now and then.

1984 Washington Post (Nexis) 21 Jan. c5 Georgetown returns to the scene of the crime this afternoon. One year ago in Madison Square Garden, the Hoyas lost to St. John's before 19,500 fans.

2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) xiii. 267 DNA samples found at the scene of the crime can be highly probative evidence in determining the identity of an offender.

b. scenes-of-crime (also scene-of-crime): (attributive) of or relating to a crime scene or to crime scenes generally (esp. with reference to the gathering of forensic evidence).

ΘΚΠ

society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [adjective] > branches of police force

uniformed1813

scenes-of-crime1931

mobile1938

uniform1938

1931 H. Battley Single Fingerprints in Amer. Jrnl. Police Sci. 2 364 The results of an examination of 849 ‘scenes of crime impressions’ by the Bureau of Scotland Yard during a period of nine months afford convincing proof on this point.

1954 F. Cherrill Cherrill of Yard iii. 39 By this arrangement it became much easier to carry out a search with a single Scenes of Crime mark which had been classified in accordance with the single fingerprint system.

1961 Observer 21 May 5/3 The War Office have placed an order..for thirty-eight ‘Scene of Crime Kits’, to issue to their security-men.

2014 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 7 June 12 The cadet scheme will give volunteers the chance to..learn about policing in the county including specialist areas like the dog section, scenes-of-crime unit and armed response.

scenes-of-crime officer n. (also scene-of-crime officer) a police officer or member of police support staff trained to locate, record, and recover forensic evidence from crime scenes; abbreviated SOCO n.

ΚΠ

1969 The Job (Metropolitan Police) 6 June 2/4 The Police Federation Conference..carried..a resolution..to the Home Secretary to put an end to..employing civilians as ‘scenes of crime’ officers.

1970 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 118 202/2 Police officers have been specially trained as ‘Scenes of Crime Officers’ and are highly experienced in the proper selection, collection, labelling and packing of relevant material.

1994 E. McNamee Resurrection Man (1998) ii. 13 There would be a scene-of-crime officer, fingerprint and forensic men.

2008 L. Horton Twisted Tracks (2009) iv. 44 It was cordoned off with police tape as was the street leading up to it, and the scenes-of-crime officers were already there.

P9. to set the scene.

a. To establish or describe the location or context of an event, story, account, etc.; to give preliminary or background information.

ΚΠ

1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 179/1 There are few poets..that can set the scene more vividly and with less effort.

1928 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 2 Jan. 2 b/1 The book is divided into 25 sections, each with a page or so of preface to set the scene.

1982 R. McGough Waving at Trains 36 To set the scene: A cave In Madron, Cornwall. On a warm September afternoon.

2012 Atlantic Oct. 106/2 To set the scene: we, this evening's chorus, are divorced professional mothers..who have adjusted, several years in, to life after marriage.

b. To create favourable or necessary conditions for a future event.

ΚΠ

1899 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 158/2 Raoul was left up the tree, perched among the branches, out of breath. Luck had set the scene for the lumberman's favorite trick. ‘Chop him down! chop him down!’ was the cry.

1915 Washington Post 20 Aug. 8/5 The third sacker..made two errors in succession, and paved the way and set the scene for what was to follow.

1989 Discover Oct. 75/2 These advances set the scene for the..biotech revolution of the eighties.

2007 H. Svensmark & N. Calder Chilling Stars i. 28 This early inception of cultivation then set the scene for the development and rapid spread of integrated agro-pastoral economies.

P10. to steal the scene: see steal v.¹ 4h.

Compounds

See also scene-shifter n., scene-shifting n.

scene building n. a building constituting or forming part of the scene of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre; see sense 1.

ΚΠ

1888 J. M. Crow Athenian Pnyx 232 The bema is in the same position as the stage, the back wall in that of the scene-building, and the outline is almost exactly that of a theatre.

1930 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 61 85 This wall..was built as a support for the rear wall of the scene building when the orchestral terrace was moved about thirty feet to the northwest.

2009 Hesperia 78 313 Prehistoric material from the area includes Bronze Age sherds from a gully at the north end of the scene building.

scene-change n. a change of the scenery on a theatre stage (or of the setting represented by this), usually marking the beginning of a new unit of action (see sense 2a(a)); (also) a move from one setting or unit of action to another in a film, television programme, etc.

ΚΠ

1803 J. Minshull Sprightly Widow ii. 24 Scene change. The orchestra makes a handsome appearance.

1913 R. T. Stephenson Some Aspects of Dramatic Art of Aeschylus ii. 39 Tucker in his edition of the Septem indicates a scene change (at 78) from the Agora to the Acropolis.

1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 20 Feb. The evidence of massive editing is everywhere, in sudden unexplained scene changes, references in dialogue to events we haven't seen and a generally jumpy feeling to the film.

2004 Independent 20 Sept. (Review section) 17/3 As resident pianist at the primary school where I once taught, I sometimes had to put up a wall of sound to cover scene-changes in school plays.

scene-chewing adj. and n. colloquial (chiefly North American) (a) adj. = scenery-chewing adj. and n. (a) at scenery n. Compounds; (b) n. = scenery-chewing adj. and n. (b) at scenery n. Compounds.

ΚΠ

1878 Boston Daily Globe 9 June 3/2 It is an excellent piece..and contains several interesting scene chewing parts for amateurs who have fiery eyes and good teeth.

1885 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 14 Aug. 3/1 In other words they ranted, and we have forsaken the school of ‘scene chewing’.

1993 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 27 Feb. (Weekend Suppl.) 9/8 The dramatic scene-chewing that Nicholson..clearly believed would be sufficient to earn him yet another best-actor nomination.

1995 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 13 Dec. c4 Courthouse..has a sudsy overtone rife with melodrama and scene-chewing actors.

scene dock n. a room or area used for storing scenery in a theatre; cf. dock n.³ 4c.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > place for storing scenery

scene room1667

scene dock1858

dock1898

1858 Times 31 Mar. 12/3 The great holes in the stage walls are the scene docks into which canvass cottages and marble halls are alike stowed away when not in use.

1977 Times 1 Nov. 14/6 The [Wexford] Opera House..[has] no scene-dock, no workshops, no adequate dressing-rooms.

2004 Opera Now Mar. 24/2 As central Lisbon is built on a series of steep little hills, the views from the rehearsal rooms, the scene dock, the scene painting studio, etc. are all different.

† scene-drawer n. Obsolete = scene-shifter n.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > person in charge of scenery > scene-shifter

scene-drawer1699

scene man1700

shifter1711

scene-shifter1724

scenist1790

grip1888

1699 G. Farquhar Adventures Covent-Garden 34 The Author, no doubt, sweat as much in confining the whole Play to one Scene, as the Scene-Drawers should were it to be changed a hundred times.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 99. ⁋3 Door-Keepers came out clad like Cardinals, and Scene-Drawers like Heathen Gods.

1866 Ladies' Treasury 1 Apr. 186/1 She and Elsie took their stations, like little fairy scene-drawers on each side of the brown moreen screen.

scenekeeper n. archaic or historical after 18th cent. a person responsible for the scenery of a theatre, theatre company, etc.

ΘΚΠ

scenekeeper1663

stage-setter1888

1663 in Theatre Notebk. (1963) 18 28/1 Mathew Kempton Sceene keeper in ord.

1760 G. A. Stevens Hist. Tom Fool I. xxv. 149 Every Supernumerary Tide-waiter, Scene-keeper, Fish-fogger, and Warehouse-man, knows all about what pass'd at St. James's.

1881 Month Nov. 370 His companion was Hart, director and scene-keeper of the theatre.

2011 G. Bagwell Darling Strumpet Characters p. xi Dicky One-Shank—old sailor and scenekeeper at the Theatre Royal.

scene-making n. the action or fact of making a display of exaggerated behaviour or strong emotion; the action of causing a scene (sense 11); cf. to make a scene at Phrases 7b.In quot. 1825: over-dramatized writing.

ΚΠ

1825 N.Y. Rev. Aug. 227 Bating a little exaggeration, and a little too much scene-making, the materials of the story are skilfully disposed.

1838 J. Grant Brit. Senate I. 186 It was impossible, by any conceivable means, to have made the confusion which now prevailed ‘worse confounded’. The force of scene-making could no further go.

1973 Skiing Dec. 153/1 Well, there's a lot more shoving, honking, and scene-making going on at Stowe than, say, at Vail or Steamboat.

2003 L. Faderman Naked in Promised Land xii. 221 On the bus I was suddenly embarrassed by my ‘acting out’, as Mark called hysterical scene-making.

scene man n. now chiefly historical a person employed to arrange scenery for a theatrical production, film, etc.; = scene-shifter n.

ΘΚΠ

scene-drawer1699

scene man1700

shifter1711

scene-shifter1724

scenist1790

grip1888

1700 T. Brown et al. tr. P. Scarron Comical Romance i. xviii. 91 in tr. P. Scarron Whole Comical Wks. One that had all his Life-time belong'd to a Play-House, sometimes as a Door-keeper, and sometimes as a Scene-man.

1855 Ann. Reg. 1854 ii. Chron. 114/1 Captain Fiske, a stage carpenter, and a scene-man, threw her down, and the latter rolled upon her, endeavouring to smother the flames.

1990 Theatre Jrnl. 42 61 Short-paying salaries in hard times was an established practice, but Fleetwood evidently believed in gouging shillings and pennies out of dressers and scenemen.

scene-painted adj. painted with a scene or scenes.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > [adjective] > furnished with costumes, props, etc.

costumed1820

scene-painted1886

propertied1901

1886 Chambers's Jrnl. 13 Nov. 721/1 Some scene-painted canvas wrapped around long rollers, some nailed and glued upon framework.

1918 Bull. Metrop. Mus. Art 13 235/1 Scene-painted vases from the potter's hand immortalize in clay and metallic earths its varied tasks.

1995 D. Lindley Court Masques 285 Scene painted curtain.

† scene-plate n. Obsolete rare = sense 15.

ΚΠ

1706 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 25 2239 Mr. Abr. Sharp cast the Species of the Sun on a Scene-plate, behind his Seven foot Glass.

scene plot n. now chiefly historical (a) Theatre a list, description, or plan of the scenes in a play, giving details of the scenery required for them and how it is to be arranged (cf. plot n. 3d); (b) Film a list of the filming locations for a film, giving details of which scenes are to be shot in which locations.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > written or printed text > [noun] > outline of scenes

scenery1683

scenario1768

scene plot1797

1797 J. Hodgkinson Narr. Connection with Old Amer. Company 15 I planned and copied every Scene-Plot for the Carpenter.

1847 W. C. Macready Diary 20 Oct. (1912) II. 375 Made one scene plot of ‘Van Artevelde’, and sent it with note to Stanfield.

1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage i. 19 The stage-manager, with every detail of the scene-plot in his head, stands directing the whole.

1988 J. Staiger in D. Bordwell et al. Classical Hollywood Cinema xi. 125 The director could break the story into shots and could supervise the drawing up of a ‘scene plot’ which listed the shots to be taken in each setting.

1998 M. Harrison Lang. Theatre 237 Scene plot, diagrams showing both the physical arrangement of the scenes in a show and the order in which they are set.

scene queen n. slang (a) a woman who is prominent in a particular milieu, esp. a particular music scene; cf. sense 8e (now somewhat rare); (b) (esp. in gay usage) a homosexual man who is a prominent or highly active participant in the gay social scene, esp. one who is very camp or ostentatious (cf. queen n. 13).

ΚΠ

1982 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 18 Sept. vi. 15/1 The glamorous Miss General Ideas and scene-queens created..during General Idea's [sc. a collective of artists] early life and hard times in Toronto.

1990 Orlando Sentinel Tribune (Nexis) 17 Aug. 24 The group strays gratifyingly far from the usual rock subjects, discussing..the life of a bored scene queen in ‘My Friend Goo’.

1994 San Francisco Examiner (Nexis) 8 Feb. b1 Only Danny could drag so many scene queens into one room.

1999 R. T. Davies Queer as Folk: Scripts Episode 5. 128 Cameron. I think that makes you officially a scene queen. Vince. I'm not. (Beat) I just go out a lot.

2001 P. Burston Shameless ii. 26 John had a tendency towards outburst like this. He was the kind of scene queen who like to cause a scene, and despite his rather softly claims that he was making a solitary stand against the poor levels of service that were the scourge of every gay man in London, the truth was that he simply enjoyed the attention.

scene room n. now chiefly historical a room or area in a theatre, used for the storage or preparation of scenery; cf. scene dock n.In quot. 1881 figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > place for storing scenery

scene room1667

scene dock1858

dock1898

1667 S. Pepys Diary 5 Oct. (1974) VIII. 463 Walked all up and down the House above, and then below into the Scene-room.

1737 Daily Advertiser 4 Feb. And the Scene-Rooms, Green and Dressing Rooms, to be on the outside of the last mention'd Measure.

1826 J. O'Keeffe Recoll. II. 39 The author is often brought into the scene-room to give his opinion on the progress of their work.

1881 R. L. Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque 248 That stage-wardrobe and scene-room that we call the memory.

1961 K. A. Burnim David Garrick, Director (1973) v. 93 This stock scene-drop had been hauled out of the scene room for frequent service between 1750, or earlier, and 1773.

2011 J. C. Greene Theatre in Dublin 1745–1820 VI. 4444 Forming part of the premises of the theatre, was a large building erected by Jones for a scene room.

scene-setter n. (a) a person who makes or sets up scenery for a dramatic production; (b) a person who, or thing which, sets the scene (in various senses); see Phrases 9.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > for an event, story, etc. > one who or that which

scene-setter1879

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > setting or locality of play > that which sets scene

scene-setter1879

1879 Illustr. London News 6 Apr. 322/3 We are next introduced to the Vicar's parlour, still in all its neatness and completeness, and on which the scene-setter has expended all his art.

1946 Billboard 11 May 33/1 Billy Reid's ‘Gypsy’ tees off with a typical ‘zigeuner’ fiddle intro as a scene setter.

1953 Times 19 May 4/1 Crowds are turning out to study the scene-setters at their work and to sit in judgment on the thoughtful—perhaps over-thoughtful—art and craft of it.

1974 Times 16 Apr. 16/3 Miss Tanburn will kick-off one of the panel discussions with a half-hour scene-setter.

2000 Oldie Dec. 52/1 She has an unusually light and sure touch as a scene-setter. One is hardly aware of how vividly she is depicting life in the first half of the 19th century.

scene-setting n. and adj. (a) n. the action of making or setting up scenery for a dramatic production; (now usually) the action or practice of setting the scene (in various senses; see Phrases 9); (b) adj. that sets the scene (in various senses).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > for an event, story, etc.

scene-setting1852

the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [adjective] > preparing for an event, story, etc.

scene-setting1968

1852 Albion 4 Sept. 426/3 The scenic artistes achieved marvels; the Kremlin..and the gigantic staircase, down which the guests descend into the ball room, were unprecedented specimens of skilful scene setting as well as of pictorial art.

1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 May 358/3 A biographer with a sense of character, an eye to scene-setting.

1968 P. Foot Politics of Harold Wilson 11 The two most important scene-setting subjects are food and the weather.

1977 D. Williams Treasure by Degrees iii. 34 The Prince's finery and the size of his entourage—natural scene-setting for an important Arab.

2003 New Yorker 8 Sept. 12/3 The back wall of Richard Hoover's set is in laid with concealed windows that slide open to reveal scene-setting video images.

scene-steal v. intransitive to dominate a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention; cf. to steal the scene at steal v.¹ 4h.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > in specific manner

to tear a (the) cat1600

to top one's part1672

to walk through ——1824

corpse1874

sketch1888

underplay1896

to play for laughs (also a laugh)1900

register1913

scene-steal1976

1976 Woman's Weekly 6 Nov. 6/2 Trish Van Devere, who not only plays Beauty in the movie (and guess who scene-steals as the Beast!) but in real life also happens to be Mrs George C. Scott.

1978 Radio Times 18 Mar. 16/3 Director Jules Dassin's wife Melina Mercouri turns every trick to scene-steal from Morley and Ustinov.

2013 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 28 June 8 The Minions are the star attraction, scenestealing with googly-eyed gusto.

scene-stealer n. a person who dominates a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention; also figurative and in extended use.

ΚΠ

1932 N.Y. Times 28 May 18/5 One of the welcomers at the train asked the actress if she thought she would be nervous appearing in the talkies with two such experienced and accomplished ‘scene stealers’ as her brothers.

1955 T. Sterling Evil of Day xviii. 193 These lousy actors are all scene-stealers.

1960 Vogue Pattern Bk. No. 4. 51 The addition of demure puffed sleeves makes it the scene-stealer of more sedate occasions.

1977 M. Hinxman One-way Cemetery xiii. 94 It's not the leading role, but it's a scene-stealer.

2012 Independent 27 Jan. 51/2 Of the men, it's not often that that dullard Don Ottavio is a scene-stealer, but Matthew Polenzani most certainly was.

scene-stealing n. and adj. (a) n. the action or fact of dominating a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention (cf. to steal the scene at steal v.¹ 4h); (b) adj. that dominates a performance in this way.

ΚΠ

1934 N.Y. Amsterdam News 6 Oct. 6/2 It has gone in for group acting instead of individual starring and scene stealing.

1963 Times 29 Jan. 11/1 Mr. Craig's is a good, workmanly Cavaradossi, a little stiff and never scene-stealing.

1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Mar. 323/2 A small but scene-stealing knockabout part.

1994 R. Beadle in M. Cordner et al. Eng. Comedy 12 Reviews of modern productions seldom fail to comment on his antics, and in truth such scene-stealing can be a welcome relief.

2012 N.Y. Mag. 30 Apr. 82/1 She plays Emily Blunt's wacky, scene-stealing younger sister who gets knocked up and shotgun-married.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	scene
释义	scenen. Brit. /siːn/, U.S. /sin/ Forms: late Middle English– scene, 1500s sean, 1500s–1600s scaene, 1500s–1600s scean, 1500s–1600s sceane, 1500s–1600s scheane, 1500s–1600s seane, 1500s–1700s schene, 1600s cean, 1600s saene, 1600s scaen, 1600s sceene, 1600s schaene, 1600s schoene, 1600s scien, 1600s scoene, 1600s–1700s sceen; also Scottish pre-1700 shaene. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French scene; Latin scēna. Etymology: < (i) Middle French scene, sene, French scène house-like structure in a theatre before which actors perform, public place where dramatic performances take place (both 2nd half of the 14th cent.), (in ancient Greece or Rome) a dramatic performance (a1531), subdivision of a play (a1574), stage (1596), the dramatic art, theatre (1646), fuss, scandal (1676), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin scēna, scaena background against which a play is performed, natural scenery, platform on which actors perform, stage, representation or performance on the stage, activity on the stage, sphere in which actions are on public display, piece of melodramatic behaviour, piece of make-believe, pretence, spectacle worthy of the stage, background or setting against which events take place, in post-classical Latin also subdivision of a play (4th cent.) < ancient Greek σκηνή tent or booth, stage building as background for plays, in Hellenistic Greek also stage effect, acting, theatrical trick, perhaps < the same Indo-European base as σκιά shadow (see scio- comb. form) + -νή , suffix forming nouns, σκηνή having originally denoted any light construction of cloth hung between tree branches to provide shade. Compare Italian scena subdivision of a play (a1375), part of an ancient Greek theatre consisting of the platform on which the actors performed and the wall behind it that served as a backdrop (1448), location where action in a drama is supposed to take place, setting (1560), (plural) exaggerated passion or sentiment (a1694); compare also scena n. Compare Catalan escena (1803), Spanish escena (1642 or earlier), Portuguese cena (1619).The Latin word was probably borrowed from Greek via Etruscan, like other words related to games and the theatre (e.g. ludus play (see ludus n.), persōna persona n., histriō histrio n.): this would explain the vocalism. Dryden ( Virg. Georg. iii. 38) rhymes the word with train. I. With reference to the theatre. 1. The structure or area at the front of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre; spec. a three-dimensional structure or building (usually representing the outside of a house or temple) which provided a background to the performance; (also) the whole area set aside for the dramatic action, including both this background structure and the proscenium (proscenium n. 1a) where the actors stood; the stage. Now rare.Cf. scene building n. at Compounds and (with reference to Greek theatres) skene n.³, which are now the more common terms for this structure. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > parts of ancient Greek or Roman theatre scenaa1387 scene1481 orchestra1606 proscenium1606 cavea1611 scenarioa1684 subselliuma1701 diazoma1706 parascenium1706 pavilion1730 hyposcenium1753 thymele1753 vomitorium1754 velarium1834 velum1843 1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. e5^v When the poetys syngen enterludes in playes or tragedyes of soroufull lamentacyons, or othir ditees in verses, in the place callid the scene [Fr. scene] or the teatre, the tent or pauilyon. ?1556 N. Smyth in tr. Herodian Hist. Annot. sig. Dd.iii^v The lower parte of y^e Scene was of Marble, and the stage in the myddes of Glasse. 1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 241 Apaturius Alabandeus made..a scene [L. scenam (Vitruvius)] with a neat hand, wherein he made images instead of columnes... He made moreover an upper-scene [L. episcenium (Vitruvius)], wherein the seelings of the porches, the halfe-house-tops were diversly adorned by the Painter. 1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 365 The Scene is oblong, jetting out six Paces more forward in the Front, than the Seats of the Spectators. 1749 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 3) VI. 59 The division for the actors was called in general the scene, or stage. 1777 W. Hamilton Acct. Discov. Pompeii 11 Close to the chapel of Isis is a theatre, no more of which has been cleared than the scene and the corridor that leads to the seats. 1825 Westm. Rev. Oct. 504 In the Roman theatres, the scene was as near as possible to the centre of the cavea, as they were principally intended for dramatic representations. 1863 C. T. Newton Hist. Discov. Halicarnassus II. ii. xvii. 443 I commenced by an excavation at A, in front of the Scene, of which the foundations are visible above the ground. 1901 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 3 May 452/1 In the classical theatre, the ‘scene’ included the whole stage, ‘proscenium’ and ‘postscenium’. 1924 A. Huxley Let. 29 Apr. (1969) 229 A Palladian theatre with fixed scene and various other delights. 1966 Mnemosyne 19 460 Opposite to the Altar Court a theatre was established c. 200 B.C. It functioned in connection with the Court, the façade of which replaced the scene of the theatre. 2. a. A sequence of dramatic action. (a) A subdivision or section of a play or other dramatic work, esp. one forming a unit of action taking place at a single location and point in time. A scene most often constitutes a subdivision of an act (act n. 9a). Act and scene divisions are found in manuscripts of Plautus and Terence which date from the 4th and 5th centuries a.d. and may have been used at an earlier date. However, although many English writers appear to have been familiar with such divisions as used in classical and French neoclassical drama, the formal division of dramatic texts into acts and scenes does not seem to have become standard in English drama until at least the 1630s. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > scene scenec1520 stage-scenea1822 c1520 tr. Terence Andria i. i, in Terens in Eng. sig. A.iii The furst scene of the furst Act. 1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus i. i. sig. Ciij^v All the versis of this scene be Senarii. 1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K^v And all shalbe concluded in one Scene, For theres no pleasure tane in tediousnes. 1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Scena... Also any one scene or entrance of a Comedie or Tragedie. 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 20 [In the ancient drama] it is to be accounted a new Scene, not [1684 not only] every time the Stage is empty, but every person who enters, though to others, makes it so; because he introduces a new business. 1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric II. xlv. 496 The entrance of a new personage upon the Stage, forms what is called a New Scene. ?1865 T. W. Robertson Society 5 Act I. Scene I.—Sidney Daryl's Chambers, in Lincoln's Inn. 1906 Stud. Musical Educ., Hist. & Aesthetics 148 Momo's aria in Act I, Scene IV..exhibits a type that succeeding generations conventionalized. 1988 M. Charney Hamlet's Fictions ii. vii. 95 Act I, Scene iii is disturbing because underneath its comfortable and cozy domesticity lie threats and cajolery. 2004 R. Ramsbotham Who wrote Bacon? i. 15 Every play, act, scene and even speech of Shakespeare's is super-abundant in dramatic life. (b) More generally: a sequence of continuous action, esp. one dealing with a particular incident, episode, or event, and typically forming part of a wider dramatic or narrative structure, such as a play, film, book, etc. Also: the action and dialogue comprising such a sequence.Some early figurative uses in sense 7 might be taken as this sense.deathbed scene, love scene, mad scene, sex scene, etc., see the first element. ΚΠ 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 31 The Scene betwixt Livia and the physician, which is a pleasant Satyre upon the artificial helps of beauty. 1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris Epil. Does not this poisoning Scene The sacred Rights of Tragedy prophane. 1767 Gentleman's Mag. June 316/1 As the nature of our musical entertainments would by no means admit of the length of his recitative, his scenes are so abridged, that not only the dialogue is mutilated, but the action is often precipitated. 1837 Brighton Patriot 26 Dec. The scene between Don Felix and Lisardo, when Flora escapes from his apartments..was also admirable. a1861 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) I. 331 In one of Dryden's plays is a famous scene, in which he ridicules the fashionable jargon of the day. 1933 Amer. Lit. 4 386 I refer to the scene in chapter 13 of Book IV in which Arbaces conducts his arch-enemy Calenus through a subterranean passage-way. 1981 R. A. Armour in W. French South & Film 18 The Camerons are a family whose concern for each other motivates key scenes in the film. 2013 Daily Actor (Nexis) 11 Feb. You are required to play a scene in which the relationship is coming to an abrupt end. †b. In plural. Scenes considered collectively; a play; dramatic writing. Cf. sense 4. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > as literary composition play1440 stage playa1535 scenes1664 1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3^v Following the New way, I mean, of writing Scenes in Verse. 1712 G. Granville Poems 154 Our Author wou'd excuse these youthful Scenes, Begotten at his Entrance in his Teens. †c. Music. = scena n. 2. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > opera > [noun] > scena scene1825 tonadilla1830 scena1842 1825 J. F. Danneley Encycl. Music Scena or Scene, a piece of music composed of a recitative, an andante or a largo, a larghetto, and an agitato or allegro. The cavatine, or first air, is often separated by a couplet de recitatif. A scene may be for one or more voices. 3. a. Those pieces of scenery, such as painted hangings, screens, etc., which are used as a background on a theatre stage for the action of a play or other dramatic production, representing the location or setting in which it takes place; (as a count noun) any of the hangings, screens, etc., of which this is composed. Also figurative. Cf. scenery n. 2.In Elizabethan theatre, the curtain or hanging at the back of the stage, concealing the dressing room or green room, stood in lieu of such scenery. Painted scenes and elaborate machinery, the representation of buildings or landscape in perspective, etc., were a principal feature of the privately-produced masques of James I and Charles I and later of opera. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery scene1540 scenery?1707 scene work1728 ethereality1819 décor1897 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery > view presented by scene1540 stage-scene1664 mise-en-scène1831 inscenation1897 1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus Prol. sig. Bij In this scenyshe apparaylynge [L. In apparatu scaenico], i. the settying forth or trymming of our scenes, that is to saye (our places appoynted for our players to come forth of). 1608 B. Jonson Masque of Blacknesse in Characters Two Royall Masques sig. A3^v First, for the Scene, was drawne a Landtschap, consisting of small woods,..which falling, an artificiall sea was seene to shoote forth. 1618 B. Holyday Τεχνογαμια Prol. (margin) Here the vpper part of the Scene open'd, when straight appear'd a Heauen [etc.]. 1656 W. Davenant (title) The Siege of Rhodes Made a Representation by the Art of Prospective in Scenes. And the Story sung in Recitative Musick. 1719 E. Young Busiris iv. 49 (stage direct.) The back Scene opens. 1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 18 Back fly the scenes, and enter foot and horse. 1748 D. Hume Philos. Ess. Human Understanding (1751) vii. 104 The Scenes of the Universe are continually shifting. 1814 Gonzanga v. v, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 161 All the characters appear lost in astonishment and terror as the scene closes them in. 1867 Athenæum 27 July 123/1 The final scene, painted by Mr. F. Lloyds, gives an excellent view of a Highland loch. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 9/1 The opening of the doors at the back of the stage caused a draught which blew over a large fan-scene containing a number of incandescent lights. 1959 H. L. Griffin Attakapas Country xvii. 122 A French artist..who had been brought to New Orleans to paint the scenes in the French Opera House. 2013 E. Huhtamo Illusions in Motion iv. 136/3 The stage was wrapped from all three sides by a continuous curving painted scene. b. The stage and its scenery considered together; the view presented to the audience at any time during the action of a performance by means of the scenery, lighting, etc.; the stage setting. In later use, with reference to film and television: the picture presented to the viewer at any time during a film or television programme, including aspects of filming, such as lighting, camera angles, etc. See also the scene opens at Phrases 2.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 2a(b).In quots. 1650, 1657 in plural with reference to a part of a Stuart masque in which elaborate scenery and lighting effects were used to create a purely visual spectacle. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > mime > tableau > [noun] > types of scene1591 waterwork1604 pose plastique1845 1591 E. Spenser Teares of Muses in Complaints sig. F My part it is and my professed skill The Stage with Tragick buskin to adorne, And fill the Scene with plaint and outcries shrill Of wretched persons, to misfortune borne. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) Prol. 4 A Kingdome for a Stage, Princes to Act, And Monarchs to behold the swelling Scene . View more context for this quotation 1633 J. Shirley Triumph of Peace 7 A Curtaine being sodainly drawne up, the Sceane was discovered representing a large streete with Sumptuous Pallaces. 1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 51 An entertainment presented to the Countess Dowager of Darby..by some Noble persons of her Family, who appear on the Scene in pastoral habit. 1650 W. Davenant Pref. to Gondibert 15 Painted History, when with the cousenage of lights it is represented in Scenes, by which wee are much lesse inform'd then by actions on the Stage. 1657 W. Davenant First Days Entertainm. Rutland-House 17 Would you meet to be delighted with Scænes? which is, to be entertain'd with the deception of motion, and transposition of Lights; where, whilst you think you see a great Battel, you are sure to get nothing by the Victory. 1713 J. Dennis Remarks upon Cato 55 Let us come to the Scenary of the Fifth Act. Cato appears first upon the Scene, sitting in a thoughtful Posture. 1747 tr. Voltaire Ess. Trag. in W. Duncombe Lucius Junius Britus (ed. 2) 23 The Tragedy of Montezuma..open'd with a new and surprizing Scene, representing a Palace in a magnificent, but barbarous Taste. Montezuma was dress'd in a singular Habit. Slaves arm'd with Bows and Arrows were placed at the farther end of the Stage. 1849 Bell's Life in London 22 Apr. 3/1 As the favourite prima donna entered on the scene as the Assyrian Queen, she was received with a burst of enthusiastic welcome. 1893 Town Topics 28 Dec. 20/2 The scene depicts a strike of employees at the stock yards. Forty live bullocks are on the stage. 1947 Hollywood Q. 3 49/1 A life-size close-up of Barnes, leader of the bandits, firing point-blank at the audience. [‘This scene,’ says the catalogue, ‘can be used to begin or end the picture.’]. 1969 Enactment (Delhi) Oct. 8/1 Close-up. Peevish face of the pan-chewing Babu, answering him reluctantly, all the time looking at a tram car off the scene. 1985 Shakespeare Q. 36 481/1 Pandarus sat down for his Epilogue, and various women crept across the scene behind him. 2011 Screen Internat. (Nexis) 20 May Beautifully composed scenes, with cinematographer Hans Bruch Jr often using long shots to emphasise the wide, barren, landscape. †4. A stage performance; a play or part of a play in representation on the stage. Also in figurative contexts. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun] > dramatic performance scene1572 representation?1589 presentationa1616 scene work1642 dramatics1796 dramaticalc1826 dramaturgy1837 theatricalitya1871 stage-work1906 1572 T. Churchyard tr. Ovid Thre First Bookes De Tristibus ii. f. 17 The royall eyes wherewyth thou do, the totall world beholde, Thadultrye vile haue gladly seene, which that in Scene is tolde [L. scaenica vidisti lentus adulteria]. 1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K4 To die to day, for (fashioning our scene) The death of Aiax,..And in a minute starting vp againe, Reuiue to please to morrowes audience. 1608 Merry Deuill of Edmonton Prol. 3 Your silence and attention, worthy friends, That your free spirits may with more pleasing sense Relish the life of this our actiue sceane. 1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a2^v The Poet who Flourish'd in the Scene, is damn'd in the Ruelle. 1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. vii. 89 O Garrick! what a rich scene of this would thy exquisite powers make! 1814 Orpheus i. ii, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 292 They crowd the trembling poet's scene. 5. The place in which some or all of the action of a dramatic work is supposed to occur; the location or setting of a play, opera, novel, etc. Frequently in to change the scene, to shift the scene. Cf. to lay the (also one's) scene at Phrases 1. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > setting or locality of play scene1592 stage-room1642 stagea1649 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (intransitive)] > locate a scene > change scene to shift the scenea1616 1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iv. sig. K2^v Well doon Balthazar, hang vp the title. Our scene is Rhodes. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. 0. 42 Vnto Southampton do we shift our Scene . View more context for this quotation 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 43 He has remov'd the Scene in the same Act, from Rome to Catiline's Army, and from thence again to Rome. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 357. ¶7 Asia, Africk, and Europe are the several Scenes of his [sc. Virgil's] Fable. 1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iii. Observ. 157 The Scene is now remov'd from Ithaca to Pylos. 1835 Court Mag. July 29/1 Lord Byron..compliments Rousseau on the taste and judgment he has displayed in selecting the scene of the ‘Nouvelle Heloise’. 1908 E. F. Knight Over-sea Brit. 276 It is supposed that Shakespeare, who wrote The Tempest in 1611, had the scene for his play suggested to him by the published description of Sir George Somers' disaster. 1962 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Oct. 810/5 The vocal perspective is ingeniously varied to suggest the changing scene, but the fortissimo passages are occasionally marred by post-echo. 2011 Jrnl. Irish Stud. 26 26 When the scene of the novel moves to England, O'Donnel again has to witness the hollowness of English ‘bon ton’. †6. Dramatic performance as an art, institution, or profession; the theatre; the stage. Usually with the. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun] sock and buskin1597 scene1616 drama1661 theatre1668 dramatics1684 dramaturgy1801 proscenium1812 1616 B. Jonson Epicœne Prol. in Wks. I. 530 The endes of all, who for the Scene doe write, Are, or should be, to profit, and delight. View more context for this quotation 1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece v. 370 For those [athletic] games had such an officer belonging to them... But whoever heard of such an officer belonging to the Scene? 1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. a3 I have more than once already maintain'd the Rights of my two Masters [sc. Homer and Virgil] against their Rivals of the Scene, even while I wrote Tragedies my self. 1713 A. Pope Prol. to Cato in Guardian No. 33. Our Scene precariously subsists too long On French Translation, and Italian Song. 1761 C. Churchill Rosciad 14 Giddy with praise, and puff'd with female pride, She quits the tragic scene. II. Figurative, metaphorical, and other extended uses. 7. A sequence of action or events, esp. one forming a segment of a longer series.Often in extended metaphors likening real-life situations to those in a dramatic production; cf. sense 2a. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > situation in a play scene1567 incident1695 situation1754 1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxiii. f. 191^v But hearken now the most sorowfull scene of all y^e tragedie... The two ministers of iniquitie did like murder & slaughter vpon those two tender babes, as they committed vpon their mother. 1577 G. Whetstone Remembraunce Gaskoigne B iij b His Sean is played, you folowe on the act. 1592 R. Greene Philomela sig. F Til Fortune..enter into the Theater of Philomelas lyfe, and beganne to act a balefull seane in this manner. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 72 We are now to present you upon the Asiatique stage, various Scænes compos'd of a miscelany of subjects. 1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. Y2 Nature has pre-compos'd us both to Love; Your part's to grant; my Scean must be to move. 1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. xii. 65 To wind up the last scene of thy tragedy, Cruelty and Cowardice..shall strike together at all thy infirmities and mistakes. 1833 Relig. Intelligencer June 74/1 The closing scene of this remarkable trial is said by those who witnessed it to possess surpassing interest. 1887 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 644 The fourth quarter is here, and Old Age, a feeble, bent figure, hobbles out, pauses wearily at the bell, raises a crutch, and taps four strokes, and totters away out of sight—‘last scene of all’. 1965 Past & Present 31 28 [The revolt in Bohemia] had a strong tinge of at least elemental nationalism..; it was simultaneously the opening scene of the Reformation. 2001 Ebony Sept. 189 (advt.) When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. 8. a. The setting or context in which events unfold or current action is concentrated; the sphere or arena of activity; the focus of events. In later use often in to come (also arrive) on the scene and variants.Originally in extended metaphors presenting a real-life setting as a figurative stage or stage setting; cf. sense 3b. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails nestc1390 grounda1400 seat1565 scene1593 locus in quoa1638 the scene of (the) action1650 sitea1657 venuea1843 1593 T. Lodge Phillis sig. A4 I That obscur'd haue fled the Sceane of Fame. 1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 125 True vertuous actions, are neuer seene vpon the Scene, but when by the necessitie of Lawes, they are enforced to show themselues. 1652 A. Ross Hist. World vi. xvii. 441 In Russia great commotions were raised by one Demetrius... He appearing on the Scene, gave out that he was hid in Monasteries, and educated by the Jesuits, that he might be the more inabled for Government. 1659 in C. H. Firth Clarke Papers (1901) IV. 294 The persones in the proclamacion mencioned having made this citty parte of their scene to act their designe upon. 1781 Gentleman's & London Mag. Jan. 27/2 The next time Arnold appeared on the scene, was in August the same year, marching to the relief of Fort Stanwix then besieged by colonel St. Leger. 1790 G. Gregory Hist. Christian Church II. 133 Thus were the two chiefs of this deplorable war taken off the scene. 1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. S. Afr. ix. 181 My arrival on the scene was felt to be so much weight in the scale. 1889 Field 19 Jan. 67/3 Whereupon Mr. Calvert's solicitor came upon the scene, with a demand for an undertaking not to offend again. 1926 Melody Maker Sept. 61 Since ‘Nelly Kelly's Cabaret’ came on the scene, it's put fresh kick into dancing. 1946 G. S. Rosenthal & F. Zachery Jazzways 16 By 1907, Bolden had disappeared from the scene, confined to an insane asylum. 1979 ‘E. Ferrars’ Witness before Fact xv. 150 I don't know what things were like for you before he arrived on the scene, perhaps not so good. 2011 T. Ronald Becoming Nancy (2012) iii. 45 Abigail Henson arrives on the scene clutching a large bag of overly ketchupped chips. b. The physical site or setting at which a particular event occurs; the location of a specific occurrence, activity, etc.accident scene, crime scene: see the first element. See also the scene of the crime at Phrases 8a. ΚΠ a1658 J. Cleveland Clievelandi Vindiciæ (1677) 130 The Sand was always the Scene of Quarrelling. 1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy Pref. sig. A3^v There is [not]..so much as a Mountain or River that has not been the Scene of some extraordinary Action. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 3 Paris, the scene of her former happiness. 1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It viii. 73 We crossed the sand hills near the scene of the Indian mail robbery and massacre of 1856, wherein the driver and conductor perished. 1884 Manch. Examiner 16 Feb. 4/6 West Somerset was the scene, yesterday, of the first contested county election under the provisions of the Corrupt Practices Act. 1932 Tyrone (Pa.) Daily Herald 28 Jan. 1/2 Every available rescue appliance and piece of diving apparatus that might be of service was rushed to the scene. 1957 J. C. Adams Outl. Fractures ii. 39 If morphia or a similar drug is given at the scene of the accident a note to that effect should be sent with the patient when he is admitted to hospital. 2011 Independent 3 Oct. 29/1 The victim, who was not identified, refused medical treatment at the scene, police said. †c. The world; human life or existence. Chiefly in the (also this) scene of things. Obsolete. Cf. to quit the scene at Phrases 5a. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > present life worldeOE this lifeOE world-lifeOE sithea1225 journey?c1225 pilgrimagec1384 weeping-dalec1400 valec1446 peregrinationc1475 scene1662 shades1816 earth life1842 macro-world1968 1662 H. More Coll. Several Philos. Writings Pref. Gen. p. xxv Which makes..the whole scene of things evidently to begin from Adam. 1681 Bp. S. Parker Demonstr. Divine Authority 112 Who would enter upon this tragical Scene of things onely to appear and so return into dust and silence? 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 61 The known Course of human Things, the Scene we are now passing through. a1822 P. B. Shelley Ess. & Lett. (1840) I. 225 Life..strips, as it were, the painted curtain from this scene of things. 1870 J. H. Newman Ess. Gram. Assent ii. viii. 261 This universal living scene of things is after all as little a logical world as it is a poetical. d. Chiefly with distinguishing word: a particular sphere or aspect of human activity; an area of interest, action, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs > sphere of activity fieldOE limitationc1405 hemisphere?1504 ambitudea1525 world1580 orb1598 spherea1616 ambit1649 scene1737 orblet1841 front1917 parish1940 ballpark1963 shtick1965 1737 B. Stillingfleet Ess. Conversat. 4 From the lone Closet to the social Scene; There view her loud, affected, scornful, sour, Paining herself, and paining others more. 1807 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 90/2 A very prominent figure on the political scene. 1844 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 22 June 385/1 The pride of class and individual state tend to make many members of the social scene appear extremely unimportant. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Oct. 786/3 Mr. Masters..is no optimistic observer of the contemporary American scene. 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn i. v. 52 If Rick had grown up in the present scene he'd probably have had his head perpetually inside a walnut radio cabinet listening to this one or that one playing a tea dance. 1959 L. Lipton Holy Barbarians i. i. 40 Something was happening on the poetry scene in Venice West. 1977 Listener 17 Feb. 214/2 Without that little building at Swiss Cottage..London's theatre scene would be much duller. 2011 C. Moran How to be Woman (2012) vii. 136 The guys look around at the music scene of the time—all grunge or Blur or whatever—and despair, ‘Jesus..! We've just got to get..some women!’ e. slang (originally U.S.). A place where people of common interests, outlook, etc., meet or where a particular activity is carried on. Hence: a social environment or milieu characterized by a particular activity, pursuit, way of life, etc., esp. when considered fashionable. Also occasionally: a social event held by a particular group; a get-together. to be (also go) on the scene (and variants): to be or become active within a particular social environment; to take part in an activity, esp. drug-taking. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > where an action or pursuit is carried on scene1950 the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair charec897 matter?c1225 journeya1352 affairc1390 notea1400 incident1485 concernment1495 actiona1500 business1524 concern1680 job1680 ploya1689 show1797 game1812 caper1839 pigeon dropping1850 shebang1869 hoodoo1876 racket1880 palaver1899 scene1964 1950 E. Paul Springtime in Paris vi. 141 ‘Nobody comes on this scene wearin' any green,’ said another taller Negro. 1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xxi. 179 Something on the scene you don't dig. 1958 G. Lea Somewhere there's Music xxi. 179 It was a bad scene. It scared me, man. 1964 New Society 20 Feb. 8/2 What happens to the young drug taker? It can be described..by actually going through the experience, going ‘on the scene’. 1967 Punch 18 Oct. 574/3 They come here to work because it's exciting and new and because it's the scene. 1968 M. Richler Cocksure xiii. 74 Like we're having a scene on Saturday night. At Timothy's pad. 1969 Oz Apr. 32/1 We've all got different scenes. The whole thing is to get to know each other's trips... Are you on an acid scene? 1977 I. Shaw Beggarman, Thief i. viii. 101 He could take a look at the scene and blow if he didn't like it. 1997 N.Y. Mag. 6 Jan. 43/1 A male model visiting from Tokyo nurses a beer and surveys the transvestites around him. ‘This is a really wild scene, man.’ 2013 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 18 Oct. 42 When we started out only a few people came to our gigs, but all of them went on to do something cultural, usually in music or fashion. It was an exciting scene, that's for sure. f. colloquial (chiefly British, esp. in gay and lesbian usage). A social environment frequented predominantly by homosexuals; gay and lesbian bars, clubs, etc., as a social milieu (sense 8e). Usually with the. Cf. non-scene adj.gay scene: see gay adj., adv., and n. Compounds 2b. ΚΠ 1958 Look 19 Aug. 65/2 The regulars who ‘make the scene’. ‘The scene’, geographically, is a narrow area running about four blocks along Grant Avenue in San Francisco's North Beach district. 1969 Jeremy 1 iii. 25/1 At the upper-end of the scene is the kept-boy who has little or nothing in common with the humbler ‘rent-boy’. 1988 J. Cockburn Lonely Hearts xi. 210 For many gays the scene is their world and their spiritual home. 1990 Rouge Winter 23/1 There was much more socialising in those days than there is now. Mind you, I don't go out into the scene now, because the scene bores me. 1998 Gay Times Aug. 28/4 (advt.) Medium-built, straight-acting M, 22, likes pubs & clubs, not into the scene. WLTM M, similar age, for friendship. 2006 Diva Feb. 60/1 After coming to terms with your own sexuality and then coming out to straight friends and family, you'd expect to be welcomed into the scene with open arms. g. With preceding possessive adjective: a person's particular sphere of interest or enjoyment; the context, environment, or milieu within which a person feels most comfortable. Frequently in not one's scene. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment mirtha1250 solacec1290 recreationc1400 esbatement1477 pastime1490 pastancea1500 passe-temps1542 entertainment1561 relief?1578 fancy1590 sport1598 abridgement1600 entertain1601 recreative1615 amusatory1618 nutsa1625 diverter1628 recreator1629 passatempo1632 amuser1724 fun1726 dissipation1733 resource1752 distraction1859 enlivening1859 good, clean fun1867 enlivenment1883 light relief1885 laugh1921 not one's scene1962 violon d'Ingres1963 1962 H. Doughty Francis Parkman ii. 64 The eastern forest, not the plains of the West, was his scene, and he here came closest to its heart. 1975 D. Lodge Changing Places ii. 84 Washing up was more his scene than body language. 1999 T. Parsons Man & Boy (2000) vi. 48 It's not really my scene. 2005 Z. Smith On Beauty 388 Aw..I'm doing a little but..I don't know, man, the rap game..it's all gangstas and playas now..that's not my scene. 9. a. An incident, an event; an episode; a situation. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > episode scene1605 episode1773 page1822 1605 Hist. Tryall Cheualry sig. C3 My throbbing heart, Like to a Scritchowle in the midnight houre, Bodes some blacke scene of mischiefe imminent. 1679 Season. Adv. Protest. 3 The Roman Party was never wanting in any bloudy Scene to destroy Christ's Disciples. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xlii. 44 And 'tis a Pleasant Scene enough, when Thieves fall out among themselves, to see the Cutting of One Diamond with Another. 1766 in 3rd Rep. Comm. E. India Company & Brit. Affairs in E. Indies (1773) App. 74 We think the vast fortunes acquired in the inland trade have been obtained by a scene of the most tyrannic and oppressive conduct that ever was known in any age or country. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 264 You were not made for scenes of danger. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter I. vii. 133 A scene followed, the like of which is often enacted in higher places, and by more important personages. 1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 78 Not at all disconcerted by the scene that had just occurred, the wily Roman undertook to justify himself. 1878 R. Simpson School of Shakspere I. 29 Then he disappears from this scene in his career. 1932 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 62 206 I would conclude that where the same scene is re-enacted time after time the playing out may be compared with the rituals of obsessional neurotics. 2002 M. B. Maher Gifts from Shane xix. 248 We spend one entire day just driving around, recalling scenes from the past, and pointing out who lives where now. b. An episode, situation, etc., forming a subject of narration or description. Frequently in titles of literary works. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > plot > episode or situation scene1645 episode1679 situation1754 1645 J. Milton Passion iv, in Poems 17 These latter [1673: latest] scenes confine my roving vers. 1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 93 Say, Shepherd, say, Are these Reflections true? Or was it but the Woman's Fear, that drew This cruel Scene; unjust to Love and You? 1790 G. Davis (title) Saint Monday; or Scenes from Low-life. 1850 F. E. Smedley (title) Frank Fairlegh, or scenes from the life of a private pupil. 1858 ‘G. Eliot’ (title) Scenes of Clerical Life. 1961 ‘W. Cooper’ (title) Scenes from married life. 2013 V. Klinkenborg (title) More scenes from the rural life. 10. a. A view or picture presented to the eye or mind of a place, incident, series of events, etc. Frequently with of. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > scene picturea1538 scene1645 1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 12 This divine blessing..strait vanishes like a fair skie and brings on such a scene of cloud and tempest, as turns all to shipwrack without havn or shoar but to a ransomles captivity. 1653 Bp. J. Taylor XXV Serm. i. 11 This is the greatest Scene of Majesty that shall be in that [i.e. the last] day, till the Sentence bee pronounced. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 249 At last all vanished, leaving a scene of..lovely trees. 1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 216 About Eight Miles Distance from Naples lyes a very noble Scene of Antiquities. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1787) III. xxx. 171 This scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a desert. 1797 A. Radcliffe Italian II. ii. 83 The travellers stopped to admire the scene. 1828 ‘H. S. Van Dyk’ Light Guitar in Melodist & Mirthful Olio II. 298 O, leave the gay and festive scenes, The halls of dazzling light. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxii. 275 We of peaceful London City, have never beheld..such a scene of hurry and alarm, as that which Brussels presented. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xi. 72 The scene outside was at once wild, grand, and beautiful. 1910 W. H. Koebel Argentina (1911) xxiv. 295 The rounding of a bend reveals a domestic scene. 1992 Oldie 21 Feb. 24/1 You may know the scene. Teenager in muddy trainers clomps over clean floor, burgles fridge as if it were his right. 2005 New Nation 26 Sept. 12/1 Picture the scene: you're on a private beach, it's 32 degrees in the shade, and a waiter serves you an ice-cold strawberry daiquiri. †b. An image or idea of something expected or anticipated in the future; a prospect. Chiefly in to open the (also a) scene of. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > [noun] > preview, foretaste arlesc1220 earnestc1225 forelook1357 foresight1422 foretaste1435 earnest pennya1438 before-tasting1526 prelibation1526 tasting1526 promise?1533 say1549 to-looka1572 handsel1573 assay1597 antepast1604 prefruitiona1631 cue1647 pregustation1656 pregustator1670 scene1691 tint1768 outlook1823 fore-view1831 preview1882 1691 R. Ames Char. Bigotted Prince 4 The then Prince of Orange, who by his coming seem'd to open the Scene of a new World, and restore the English to the Poet's time of the Golden Age again. 1692 W. Lowth Vindication iii. 164 They [sc. prophets] do not open the Scene of things to come, only to gratify a Vain Curiosity..but to assure us that God interests himself in the Government of the World. 1762 T. Mortimer Every Man his own Broker (ed. 5) 173 Light Horse [otherwise called ‘scrip’]..is the Commodity to Jobb with, and opens a most extensive scene of it. 11. A display of exaggerated or melodramatic behaviour; a public exhibition of emotion or strong feeling; a fuss. See also Phrases 7. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > [noun] motiona1387 humour1579 mania1689 scene1764 sensation1765 agitation1769 1764 S. Foote Lyar iii. ii. 61 My father has got to the bottom of the whole Abington business. Pap. The deuce! Y. Wild. We parted this moment. Such a scene! 1812 Ld. Byron Let. 27 Dec. (1973) II. 264 I suspect from what you say & what I have heard that there will be a scene. 1844 B. Disraeli Coningsby III. viii. vii. 257 From an anticipatory horror of something like a scene. 1921 Everybody's Sept. 85/2 At first the old gentleman refused to accept my apologies. There was quite a scene. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard viii. 255 Two of them rose and followed him out. ‘Don't let's have a scene,’ one of the Rubber Heels said... The other ran his hands over Sneed's jacket. 2010 Daily Rec. (Nexis) 8 Apr. 43 My mum lost her temper and told her she was a sponging hypochondriac and it was time she grew up. There was a huge scene and crying. †III. An object thought to resemble or evoke the stage or its scenery. 12. A raised platform. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > quality of being raised or elevated > raised level surface or platform plancher1295 staging1323 cagea1400 scaffoldc1405 mounture?a1425 halpace1507 wharf1533 platform1557 plat1559 foot pace1571 theatre1587 scenec1612 estrade1696 suggestum1705 tribune1763 scaffolding1787 estrado1838 dais1861 deck1872 c1612 W. Strachey Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) i. vi. 78 By their howses, they have sometymes A Scæne or high Stage raised like a Scaffold..covered with Matts, which..is a Shelter and serves for such a Covered place, where men vsed in old tyme to sitt and talke. 13. A curtain; (also) a decorative screen. Cf. sense 3a Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > [noun] > tapestry > for hanging painted cloth1389 halling1418 parlouring1496 scene1638 painting cloth1668 stamped leather1819 hanger- society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > curtain curtainc1320 riddelc1380 saya1382 serge1382 veilinga1398 traverse1400 veil1567 purdah1621 scene1638 drapes1908 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 138 When the greene and crimson scænes [1677 curtains or scenes] of silke were drawne, from this Apollo, wee lookt into a great square court. 1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. G3 Out-side silk, and out-side Lawne; Sceanes to cheat us neatly drawne. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 194 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors Instead of Tapistry, they have a kinde of Scenes or Shutters, which serve them also for Pictures. 14. Each of a number of groups or layers of clouds appearing one above the other. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > [noun] > a cloud > (mass of) clouds > piled up scene1686 1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. xv. 83 Frosty, mist, fair; clouds in scenes. 15. A screen which can be attached to a telescope at a distance from the eyepiece so that an image (esp. of the sun) can be projected on it. Cf. scene-plate n. at Compounds. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for projecting image > [noun] > screen for reception of projected images scene1706 screen1739 split screen1953 1706 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 25 2237 A Sevenfoot Telescope was fitted up with a Scene to receive the Species of the Sun cast through it. Phrases P1. to lay the (also one's) scene: to establish the background, setting, or context for a play, story, account, etc.; (also figurative) to create the necessary conditions for a future event, action, etc. (cf. lay v.¹ 20b). Cf. to set the scene at Phrases 9. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (intransitive)] > locate a scene to lay the (also one's) scene1597 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet Prol. 2 In faire Verona, where we lay our Scene . View more context for this quotation 1648 T. Stephens tr. Statius Thebais ii. 52 These creepe the neerest way, by paths unseen, Through shrubs, and crosse the woods: Then lay their scene For villany. a1749 S. Boyse New Pantheon (1753) x. 22 This Engagement is differently related by Authors..some Writers laying the Scene in Italy..others in Greece. 1825 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 1/2 In a recent performance.., where the scene is laid in the reign of George II, John Duke of Argyll..is by a strange and peculiar felicity of retroposition, attired in the Vandyke dress of the time of Charles I. 1939 H. W. Wells Elizabethan & Jacobean Playwrights ii. 35 The playwright lays his scene in no particular city or period of history. 2010 Independent (Nexis) 3 Apr. 48 The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, which laid the scene for the American Civil War by setting out the arguments over slavery and the rights of black people. P2. the scene opens and variants [compare French ouvrir la scène (1690)] : (in early use) the stage setting is revealed; (later more generally) the action begins.Originally used literally, and chiefly in stage directions, with reference to the opening of a curtain or screen concealing or forming part of the scenery of a play; in later use influenced by sense 2a and open v. 17b. ΚΠ 1623 B. Jonson Time Vindicated sig. B2 (stage direct.) Loud Mvsiqve. To which the whole Scene opens, where Saturne sitting with Venus is discouer'd aboue. 1673 E. Settle Empress of Morocco i. 1 (stage direct.) Scene opens, Muly Labas appears bound in Chains. 1693 T. Rymer Short View Trag. sig. B7^v The Scene opening presents 15 Grandees of Spain. 1767 A. Campbell Sale of Authors iii. 165 (stage direct.) Scene opens, Apollo, Booksellers, &c. at Table, with Wine, &c. before them. 1865 A. Thomas On Guard I. ii The first scene opened on a somnorific, sultry summer afternoon in London. 1877 W. W. Fowler Woman on Amer. Frontier x. 224 The scene opens with a view of three white-tilted Conestoga wagons..each drawn by four pair of oxen rumbling along through a plain. 1938 Times 24 June 14/2 The first scene..opened with villagers..watching their children playing ‘Hot Cockles’. 1979 R. McMillan All in Good Faith ii. i. 53 (stage direct.) The scene opens in the middle of a crowded party; everyone is well-oiled. 2002 M. Cousins Scene by Scene 45/1 The scene opens as Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon), dressed in 1920s fashion as Josephine and Daphne, board the train to Florida. P3. the scene of (the) action: the place (real or metaphorical) which is the location, setting, or focus of events or activity (cf. sense 8a, 8b); spec. the site of military action (see action n. 18). ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails nestc1390 grounda1400 seat1565 scene1593 locus in quoa1638 the scene of (the) action1650 sitea1657 venuea1843 1650 C. Elderfield Civil Right Tythes xxxii. 277 Things that had their proper scene of action and agitation elsewhere in another room. 1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Tt3/3 There will be the Scene of Action this Campaigne, ce sera là le Theatre de la Guerre. 1730 C. Lamotte Ess. Poetry & Painting ii. 71 As to the Scene of the Action: This, without any just Reason, is represented to be a Stable, where Oxen and Asses are seen tied to the Manger. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter I. vii. 138 It was clear she could not quit the scene of action. 1876 S. Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 24 The riverine navies of Egypt floated to the scene of action. 1927 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 19 July 2/4 As soon as the planes reached the scene of the action the machine gunners directed a heavy fire against the rebel positions. 1967 Econ. Devel. & Cultural Change 15 318 The financing agencies, being close to the spot, could judge the project much better than the centralized agency far away from the scene of action. 2002 P. Foos Short, Offhand, Killing Affair 196 This included teamsters, musicians, and soldiers who had served for extremely brief periods or who had merely traveled to the scene of action. P4. behind the scenes. a. Behind the stage or the scenery of a theatre where the public is not usually admitted; out of sight of the audience; (hence) so as to see or understand the process of making a film or television show; on a film set. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adverb] > behind stage behind the scenes1668 behind1824 backstage1898 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 32 Things hapning in the Action of the Play, and suppos'd to be done behind the Scenes. 1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1749 I. 106 She was carried off to be put to death behind the scenes. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. iv. viii. 178 Those who are behind the scenes are not to be dazzled by the tinsel of the property-man. 1919 Boston Sunday Globe 15 June 48/2 (heading) Behind the scenes at the movies. Just how the pictures are made told in detail from scenario to screen. 1920 Punch 10 Mar. 197/1 Operatics. It has been suggested before now that Opera might be improved if the singing were done behind the scenes and the performance on the stage were carried out in dumb show by competent actors. 1984 Back Stage 21 Sept. 26/2 A new television commercial that takes viewers behind-the-scenes of Showtime's programming. 2006 Time Out N.Y. 9 Mar. 87/3 This documentary goes behind the scenes at a production of The Tempest. b. figurative and in extended use: (a) in secret, away from public view or scrutiny; in the background; (b) so as to gain insight into the inner workings of something. ΚΠ 1685 J. Dryden tr. Lucretius Nature of Love in Sylvæ 90 Well they understand like cunning Queans; And hide their nastiness behind the Scenes. 1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1102 I, who have been behind the scenes, both of pleasure and business. 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee v, in Tales Fashionable Life V. 355 Miss Pratt..had obtained the entrée to a number of great houses, and was behind the scenes in many fashionable families. 1931 J. Galsworthy Maid in Waiting vi. 42 Saxenden is a big noise behind the scenes in military matters. 2012 New Yorker 3 Sept. 41/3 Behind the scenes, the police worked up an Operational and Raid Plan, which involved more than a dozen local and federal agents. c. attributive (usually with hyphens). Of, relating to, or designating activity taking place away from public view; (of a person) that acts or works in the background. ΚΠ 1820 J. Waldie Sketches Descriptive of Italy I. xxiii. 342 I may well call the religious ceremonies of Rome a performance—for they are really like acting—with this difference, that the spectators are admitted both before and behind the scenes, or rather that the behind-the-scenes-work is done before their eyes. 1916 E. V. Lucas Vermilion Box 171 This was not a mere idle rumour bearer..but one with friends of behind the scenes knowledge. 1955 H. Roth Sleeper ix. 69 His behind-the-scenes directors must have trusted him. 1961 John o' London's 5 Oct. 374/2 His political novel tells the story of the behind-the-scenes struggle for power. 2012 Daily Tel. 5 July 22/1 The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, in which he also has a major behind-the-scenes role. P5. a. to quit the scene: to leave the place where events are happening or action taking place; to go away; (frequently figurative) to die (cf. sense 8c). ΚΠ 1692 R. Ames Elegy Death Rear-Admiral Carter (single sheet) If from Fates Jaws could Vertue save, Or Courage rescue from the Grave, Carter would ne're have quit the Scene. 1760 Crit. Rev. Feb. 136 Sylvia having eyed them from behind a thicket, advances when they quit the scene. 1838 J. D'Alton Hist. County of Dublin 19 The justice of Agricola's apprehensions, and the prudence of his policy, were fated to be evinced in a few ages after himself had quit the scene. 1975 Change 7 47/1 While the prognosis, by and large, is surprisingly upbeat, the skeptics have not quit the scene altogether. 2010 R. Morris Lighting Out for Territory v. 146 When Norton himself quit the scene in 1880, thirty thousand mourners filed past his coffin while flags across the city flew at half-mast and the San Francisco Chronicle mourned: ‘Le Roi Est Mort!’ b. Originally U.S. slang. to make the scene and variants: (a) to arrive at or go to a place; to participate in an event or activity (cf. sense 8e); (b) to come to prominence, esp. within a certain sphere of activity; to be successful. ΚΠ 1954 A. Ginsberg Let. 26 Nov. in J. Kerouac & A. Ginsberg Lett. (2010) 252 Please leave time free to see me, we will make all the possible scenes, Montmarte and Village. 1957 N.Y. Times Mag. 18 Aug. 26/3 Scene, any place where musicians play or gather; by extension, any place where people meet or any event they attend. Thus, ‘Let's make the country scene this week-end.’ 1964 Billboard 5 Sept. 6/1 Until the Beatles made the scene early this year, many tradesters were saying that the era of the million-selling single was passed. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard viii. 202 Billie would eventually get the sheet changed..or Mrs Basil, whoever made the scene first. 2004 B. Frazer in N. M. Grace & R. C. Johnson Breaking Rule of Cool 130 Small time poets just making the scene at readings or in little mags. 2013 J. Ross Outside Wire xvii. 195 By the time we made the scene the surrounding jungle was hot and silent. P6. change of scene n. the action or fact of moving to different surroundings, esp. in order to restore or improve one's mental or physical well being; (now more usually) an instance of such a change; = change of scenery n. at scenery n. Phrases 1.In early use not a fixed collocation. ΚΠ ?1792 I. Pigot Let. in A. Leslie Mrs. Fitzherbert (1960) ix. 87 She says her spirits are so damped and her nerves so bad, she must go out to..soothe her mind by change of scene and country. 1815 T. S. Surr Magic of Wealth II. 260 Its half the pleasure of going to these sort of places.—If one comes by the way of getting a change of scene like, and a little recreation from the shop. 1824 Scenes & Thoughts 14 My tender parents..proposed that I should go some little excursion, hoping that change of scene would complete my re-establishment. 1889 Harper's Mag. July 234/1 Papa Graystone vowed that the lovely invalid should have change of air, change of scene, and repose without a moment's delay—now—instantly. 1934 A. Huxley Let. 5 Mar. (1969) 378 I feel in need of a change of scene, being stickily entangled in a novel I can't quite find a satisfactory machinery for. 1988 H. Thomas Klara (1990) li. 255 Charlie Grew decided that he needed a change of scene. 2000 N.Y. Times 31 Dec. v. 11/1 She..seems to know what city dwellers most need: a total change of scene, a chance to slow down, let go and, as the Jamaicans say, cool out. P7. a. to make a scene of: to treat (an event, situation, etc.) with undue fuss or emotion, esp. for effect; to make a commotion about (an incident, experience, etc.). Chiefly in to make a scene of it. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > stir up or maintain public excitement [verb (intransitive)] to make a scene of1804 agitate1828 to raise Cain1840 to whoop things up1873 1804 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 169 The reconciliation should be accompanied with éclat, and..it was intended to make a scene of it. 1861 Knickerbocker July 37 She determined to surrender, but still resolved to make a scene of it. She accordingly..suddenly burst into tears, and flung herself into his arms, sobbing violently. 1916 Cosmopolitan Feb. 439/1 I should like to suggest that you an Lord Henry have you explanations in private. It seems to me..rather indecent to make a scene of it—like this. 1983 S. R. Lawhead Dream Thief xix. 394 Most people do not care to make a scene of their public disgrace. 2006 in Jrnl. Hist. Sexuality (2007) 16 9 It [sc. homosexuality] was an issue, if we made a scene of it, but so was drinking. b. to make (also cause, create) a scene [compare French faire une scène (à quelqu'un) : see to make (a person) a scene at Phrases 7c] : to indulge in a public display of emotion or strong feeling; to cause a fuss or commotion; cf. sense 11. ΚΠ 1820 ‘Lady Humdrum’ Domest. Scenes II. 248 ‘For goodness' sake!’ cried Laura, ‘don't let us make a scene here!’ 1880 E. Scott-Stevenson Our Home in Cyprus xi. 130 She created quite ‘a scene’. When told she must bring her baby again, she gesticulated, and passionately exclaimed that ‘no one should drag her there’. 1888 Poor Nellie 34 You made a regular scene. 1916 D. Haig Diary 23 Oct. in War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 (2005) 245 He was afraid that Joffre, being an ‘underbred individual’ might make a scene on account of my last letter to him. 1995 C. Coulter Valentine Legacy ix. 93 There was no reason to cause a scene in the middle of the Blanchards' ballroom. 2003 J. Drury Ian Dury & Blockheads iv. 82 This was a reference to the fact that I didn't mind ruffling feathers in the studio and making a scene to get my own way. c. to make (a person) a scene [compare French faire une scène à quelqu'un (1782)] : to confront (a person) with a public display of emotion or strong feeling; to berate or reproach (a person) about something. Now rare. ΚΠ 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiv. 589 Madame de Belladonna made him a scene about you, and fired off in one of her furies. 1866 H. Kingsley Leighton Court xxvii. 96 Once she had made him a scene, but it was no use: the more she stormed the more he laughed. 1908 H. James Portrait of Lady (rev. ed.) I. ix. 112 Was Lord Warburton suddenly turning romantic—was he going to make her a scene, in his own house, only the third time they had met? 1932 E. C. Mayne tr. C. Du Bos Byron & Need of Fatality vi. 276 Byron went to Annabella's room for the purpose of making her a scene about the actresses, and an extremely violent one. 1970 N. Marsh When in Rome (1971) 105 She certainly made him a scene. P8. a. the scene of the crime: the location at which a crime has been committed; (also figurative) the place where something bad or significant occurred or originated. Cf. crime scene n. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > in which something takes place or prevails > specific the scene of the crime1816 society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a crime > place where crime committed the scene of the crime1816 1816 Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1814 7 362/1 It chanced that a stranger..lodged in a house opposite to the scene of the crime. 1884 L. H. Griffin Great Republ. 148 He was taken to the scene of the crime by a lynching party. 1923 A. Christie Murder on Links iv. 51 Now, Monsieur Poirot, you would without doubt like to visit the scene of the crime. 1958 B. Hope in Boston Daily Globe 19 Sept. 10/2 I love [state] fairs... It's like getting back to my original business... I like to sneak back to the scene of the crime now and then. 1984 Washington Post (Nexis) 21 Jan. c5 Georgetown returns to the scene of the crime this afternoon. One year ago in Madison Square Garden, the Hoyas lost to St. John's before 19,500 fans. 2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) xiii. 267 DNA samples found at the scene of the crime can be highly probative evidence in determining the identity of an offender. b. scenes-of-crime (also scene-of-crime): (attributive) of or relating to a crime scene or to crime scenes generally (esp. with reference to the gathering of forensic evidence). ΘΚΠ society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [adjective] > branches of police force uniformed1813 scenes-of-crime1931 mobile1938 uniform1938 1931 H. Battley Single Fingerprints in Amer. Jrnl. Police Sci. 2 364 The results of an examination of 849 ‘scenes of crime impressions’ by the Bureau of Scotland Yard during a period of nine months afford convincing proof on this point. 1954 F. Cherrill Cherrill of Yard iii. 39 By this arrangement it became much easier to carry out a search with a single Scenes of Crime mark which had been classified in accordance with the single fingerprint system. 1961 Observer 21 May 5/3 The War Office have placed an order..for thirty-eight ‘Scene of Crime Kits’, to issue to their security-men. 2014 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 7 June 12 The cadet scheme will give volunteers the chance to..learn about policing in the county including specialist areas like the dog section, scenes-of-crime unit and armed response. c. scenes-of-crime officer n. (also scene-of-crime officer) a police officer or member of police support staff trained to locate, record, and recover forensic evidence from crime scenes; abbreviated SOCO n. ΚΠ 1969 The Job (Metropolitan Police) 6 June 2/4 The Police Federation Conference..carried..a resolution..to the Home Secretary to put an end to..employing civilians as ‘scenes of crime’ officers. 1970 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 118 202/2 Police officers have been specially trained as ‘Scenes of Crime Officers’ and are highly experienced in the proper selection, collection, labelling and packing of relevant material. 1994 E. McNamee Resurrection Man (1998) ii. 13 There would be a scene-of-crime officer, fingerprint and forensic men. 2008 L. Horton Twisted Tracks (2009) iv. 44 It was cordoned off with police tape as was the street leading up to it, and the scenes-of-crime officers were already there. P9. to set the scene. a. To establish or describe the location or context of an event, story, account, etc.; to give preliminary or background information. ΚΠ 1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 179/1 There are few poets..that can set the scene more vividly and with less effort. 1928 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 2 Jan. 2 b/1 The book is divided into 25 sections, each with a page or so of preface to set the scene. 1982 R. McGough Waving at Trains 36 To set the scene: A cave In Madron, Cornwall. On a warm September afternoon. 2012 Atlantic Oct. 106/2 To set the scene: we, this evening's chorus, are divorced professional mothers..who have adjusted, several years in, to life after marriage. b. To create favourable or necessary conditions for a future event. ΚΠ 1899 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 158/2 Raoul was left up the tree, perched among the branches, out of breath. Luck had set the scene for the lumberman's favorite trick. ‘Chop him down! chop him down!’ was the cry. 1915 Washington Post 20 Aug. 8/5 The third sacker..made two errors in succession, and paved the way and set the scene for what was to follow. 1989 Discover Oct. 75/2 These advances set the scene for the..biotech revolution of the eighties. 2007 H. Svensmark & N. Calder Chilling Stars i. 28 This early inception of cultivation then set the scene for the development and rapid spread of integrated agro-pastoral economies. P10. to steal the scene: see steal v.¹ 4h. Compounds See also scene-shifter n., scene-shifting n. scene building n. a building constituting or forming part of the scene of an ancient Greek or Roman theatre; see sense 1. ΚΠ 1888 J. M. Crow Athenian Pnyx 232 The bema is in the same position as the stage, the back wall in that of the scene-building, and the outline is almost exactly that of a theatre. 1930 Trans. & Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 61 85 This wall..was built as a support for the rear wall of the scene building when the orchestral terrace was moved about thirty feet to the northwest. 2009 Hesperia 78 313 Prehistoric material from the area includes Bronze Age sherds from a gully at the north end of the scene building. scene-change n. a change of the scenery on a theatre stage (or of the setting represented by this), usually marking the beginning of a new unit of action (see sense 2a(a)); (also) a move from one setting or unit of action to another in a film, television programme, etc. ΚΠ 1803 J. Minshull Sprightly Widow ii. 24 Scene change. The orchestra makes a handsome appearance. 1913 R. T. Stephenson Some Aspects of Dramatic Art of Aeschylus ii. 39 Tucker in his edition of the Septem indicates a scene change (at 78) from the Agora to the Acropolis. 1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 20 Feb. The evidence of massive editing is everywhere, in sudden unexplained scene changes, references in dialogue to events we haven't seen and a generally jumpy feeling to the film. 2004 Independent 20 Sept. (Review section) 17/3 As resident pianist at the primary school where I once taught, I sometimes had to put up a wall of sound to cover scene-changes in school plays. scene-chewing adj. and n. colloquial (chiefly North American) (a) adj. = scenery-chewing adj. and n. (a) at scenery n. Compounds; (b) n. = scenery-chewing adj. and n. (b) at scenery n. Compounds. ΚΠ 1878 Boston Daily Globe 9 June 3/2 It is an excellent piece..and contains several interesting scene chewing parts for amateurs who have fiery eyes and good teeth. 1885 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 14 Aug. 3/1 In other words they ranted, and we have forsaken the school of ‘scene chewing’. 1993 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 27 Feb. (Weekend Suppl.) 9/8 The dramatic scene-chewing that Nicholson..clearly believed would be sufficient to earn him yet another best-actor nomination. 1995 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 13 Dec. c4 Courthouse..has a sudsy overtone rife with melodrama and scene-chewing actors. scene dock n. a room or area used for storing scenery in a theatre; cf. dock n.³ 4c. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > place for storing scenery scene room1667 scene dock1858 dock1898 1858 Times 31 Mar. 12/3 The great holes in the stage walls are the scene docks into which canvass cottages and marble halls are alike stowed away when not in use. 1977 Times 1 Nov. 14/6 The [Wexford] Opera House..[has] no scene-dock, no workshops, no adequate dressing-rooms. 2004 Opera Now Mar. 24/2 As central Lisbon is built on a series of steep little hills, the views from the rehearsal rooms, the scene dock, the scene painting studio, etc. are all different. † scene-drawer n. Obsolete = scene-shifter n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > person in charge of scenery > scene-shifter scene-drawer1699 scene man1700 shifter1711 scene-shifter1724 scenist1790 grip1888 1699 G. Farquhar Adventures Covent-Garden 34 The Author, no doubt, sweat as much in confining the whole Play to one Scene, as the Scene-Drawers should were it to be changed a hundred times. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 99. ⁋3 Door-Keepers came out clad like Cardinals, and Scene-Drawers like Heathen Gods. 1866 Ladies' Treasury 1 Apr. 186/1 She and Elsie took their stations, like little fairy scene-drawers on each side of the brown moreen screen. scenekeeper n. archaic or historical after 18th cent. a person responsible for the scenery of a theatre, theatre company, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > person in charge of scenery scenekeeper1663 stage-setter1888 1663 in Theatre Notebk. (1963) 18 28/1 Mathew Kempton Sceene keeper in ord. 1760 G. A. Stevens Hist. Tom Fool I. xxv. 149 Every Supernumerary Tide-waiter, Scene-keeper, Fish-fogger, and Warehouse-man, knows all about what pass'd at St. James's. 1881 Month Nov. 370 His companion was Hart, director and scene-keeper of the theatre. 2011 G. Bagwell Darling Strumpet Characters p. xi Dicky One-Shank—old sailor and scenekeeper at the Theatre Royal. scene-making n. the action or fact of making a display of exaggerated behaviour or strong emotion; the action of causing a scene (sense 11); cf. to make a scene at Phrases 7b.In quot. 1825: over-dramatized writing. ΚΠ 1825 N.Y. Rev. Aug. 227 Bating a little exaggeration, and a little too much scene-making, the materials of the story are skilfully disposed. 1838 J. Grant Brit. Senate I. 186 It was impossible, by any conceivable means, to have made the confusion which now prevailed ‘worse confounded’. The force of scene-making could no further go. 1973 Skiing Dec. 153/1 Well, there's a lot more shoving, honking, and scene-making going on at Stowe than, say, at Vail or Steamboat. 2003 L. Faderman Naked in Promised Land xii. 221 On the bus I was suddenly embarrassed by my ‘acting out’, as Mark called hysterical scene-making. scene man n. now chiefly historical a person employed to arrange scenery for a theatrical production, film, etc.; = scene-shifter n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > people concerned with theatrical productions > [noun] > person in charge of scenery > scene-shifter scene-drawer1699 scene man1700 shifter1711 scene-shifter1724 scenist1790 grip1888 1700 T. Brown et al. tr. P. Scarron Comical Romance i. xviii. 91 in tr. P. Scarron Whole Comical Wks. One that had all his Life-time belong'd to a Play-House, sometimes as a Door-keeper, and sometimes as a Scene-man. 1855 Ann. Reg. 1854 ii. Chron. 114/1 Captain Fiske, a stage carpenter, and a scene-man, threw her down, and the latter rolled upon her, endeavouring to smother the flames. 1990 Theatre Jrnl. 42 61 Short-paying salaries in hard times was an established practice, but Fleetwood evidently believed in gouging shillings and pennies out of dressers and scenemen. scene-painted adj. painted with a scene or scenes. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > [adjective] > furnished with costumes, props, etc. costumed1820 scene-painted1886 propertied1901 1886 Chambers's Jrnl. 13 Nov. 721/1 Some scene-painted canvas wrapped around long rollers, some nailed and glued upon framework. 1918 Bull. Metrop. Mus. Art 13 235/1 Scene-painted vases from the potter's hand immortalize in clay and metallic earths its varied tasks. 1995 D. Lindley Court Masques 285 Scene painted curtain. † scene-plate n. Obsolete rare = sense 15. ΚΠ 1706 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 25 2239 Mr. Abr. Sharp cast the Species of the Sun on a Scene-plate, behind his Seven foot Glass. scene plot n. now chiefly historical (a) Theatre a list, description, or plan of the scenes in a play, giving details of the scenery required for them and how it is to be arranged (cf. plot n. 3d); (b) Film a list of the filming locations for a film, giving details of which scenes are to be shot in which locations. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > written or printed text > [noun] > outline of scenes scenery1683 scenario1768 scene plot1797 1797 J. Hodgkinson Narr. Connection with Old Amer. Company 15 I planned and copied every Scene-Plot for the Carpenter. 1847 W. C. Macready Diary 20 Oct. (1912) II. 375 Made one scene plot of ‘Van Artevelde’, and sent it with note to Stanfield. 1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage i. 19 The stage-manager, with every detail of the scene-plot in his head, stands directing the whole. 1988 J. Staiger in D. Bordwell et al. Classical Hollywood Cinema xi. 125 The director could break the story into shots and could supervise the drawing up of a ‘scene plot’ which listed the shots to be taken in each setting. 1998 M. Harrison Lang. Theatre 237 Scene plot, diagrams showing both the physical arrangement of the scenes in a show and the order in which they are set. scene queen n. slang (a) a woman who is prominent in a particular milieu, esp. a particular music scene; cf. sense 8e (now somewhat rare); (b) (esp. in gay usage) a homosexual man who is a prominent or highly active participant in the gay social scene, esp. one who is very camp or ostentatious (cf. queen n. 13). ΚΠ 1982 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 18 Sept. vi. 15/1 The glamorous Miss General Ideas and scene-queens created..during General Idea's [sc. a collective of artists] early life and hard times in Toronto. 1990 Orlando Sentinel Tribune (Nexis) 17 Aug. 24 The group strays gratifyingly far from the usual rock subjects, discussing..the life of a bored scene queen in ‘My Friend Goo’. 1994 San Francisco Examiner (Nexis) 8 Feb. b1 Only Danny could drag so many scene queens into one room. 1999 R. T. Davies Queer as Folk: Scripts Episode 5. 128 Cameron. I think that makes you officially a scene queen. Vince. I'm not. (Beat) I just go out a lot. 2001 P. Burston Shameless ii. 26 John had a tendency towards outburst like this. He was the kind of scene queen who like to cause a scene, and despite his rather softly claims that he was making a solitary stand against the poor levels of service that were the scourge of every gay man in London, the truth was that he simply enjoyed the attention. scene room n. now chiefly historical a room or area in a theatre, used for the storage or preparation of scenery; cf. scene dock n.In quot. 1881 figurative. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > other parts of theatre > [noun] > place for storing scenery scene room1667 scene dock1858 dock1898 1667 S. Pepys Diary 5 Oct. (1974) VIII. 463 Walked all up and down the House above, and then below into the Scene-room. 1737 Daily Advertiser 4 Feb. And the Scene-Rooms, Green and Dressing Rooms, to be on the outside of the last mention'd Measure. 1826 J. O'Keeffe Recoll. II. 39 The author is often brought into the scene-room to give his opinion on the progress of their work. 1881 R. L. Stevenson Virginibus Puerisque 248 That stage-wardrobe and scene-room that we call the memory. 1961 K. A. Burnim David Garrick, Director (1973) v. 93 This stock scene-drop had been hauled out of the scene room for frequent service between 1750, or earlier, and 1773. 2011 J. C. Greene Theatre in Dublin 1745–1820 VI. 4444 Forming part of the premises of the theatre, was a large building erected by Jones for a scene room. scene-setter n. (a) a person who makes or sets up scenery for a dramatic production; (b) a person who, or thing which, sets the scene (in various senses); see Phrases 9. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > for an event, story, etc. > one who or that which scene-setter1879 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > setting or locality of play > that which sets scene scene-setter1879 1879 Illustr. London News 6 Apr. 322/3 We are next introduced to the Vicar's parlour, still in all its neatness and completeness, and on which the scene-setter has expended all his art. 1946 Billboard 11 May 33/1 Billy Reid's ‘Gypsy’ tees off with a typical ‘zigeuner’ fiddle intro as a scene setter. 1953 Times 19 May 4/1 Crowds are turning out to study the scene-setters at their work and to sit in judgment on the thoughtful—perhaps over-thoughtful—art and craft of it. 1974 Times 16 Apr. 16/3 Miss Tanburn will kick-off one of the panel discussions with a half-hour scene-setter. 2000 Oldie Dec. 52/1 She has an unusually light and sure touch as a scene-setter. One is hardly aware of how vividly she is depicting life in the first half of the 19th century. scene-setting n. and adj. (a) n. the action of making or setting up scenery for a dramatic production; (now usually) the action or practice of setting the scene (in various senses; see Phrases 9); (b) adj. that sets the scene (in various senses). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > for an event, story, etc. scene-setting1852 the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [adjective] > preparing for an event, story, etc. scene-setting1968 1852 Albion 4 Sept. 426/3 The scenic artistes achieved marvels; the Kremlin..and the gigantic staircase, down which the guests descend into the ball room, were unprecedented specimens of skilful scene setting as well as of pictorial art. 1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 May 358/3 A biographer with a sense of character, an eye to scene-setting. 1968 P. Foot Politics of Harold Wilson 11 The two most important scene-setting subjects are food and the weather. 1977 D. Williams Treasure by Degrees iii. 34 The Prince's finery and the size of his entourage—natural scene-setting for an important Arab. 2003 New Yorker 8 Sept. 12/3 The back wall of Richard Hoover's set is in laid with concealed windows that slide open to reveal scene-setting video images. scene-steal v. intransitive to dominate a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention; cf. to steal the scene at steal v.¹ 4h. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > in specific manner to tear a (the) cat1600 to top one's part1672 to walk through ——1824 corpse1874 sketch1888 underplay1896 to play for laughs (also a laugh)1900 register1913 scene-steal1976 1976 Woman's Weekly 6 Nov. 6/2 Trish Van Devere, who not only plays Beauty in the movie (and guess who scene-steals as the Beast!) but in real life also happens to be Mrs George C. Scott. 1978 Radio Times 18 Mar. 16/3 Director Jules Dassin's wife Melina Mercouri turns every trick to scene-steal from Morley and Ustinov. 2013 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 28 June 8 The Minions are the star attraction, scenestealing with googly-eyed gusto. scene-stealer n. a person who dominates a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention; also figurative and in extended use. ΚΠ 1932 N.Y. Times 28 May 18/5 One of the welcomers at the train asked the actress if she thought she would be nervous appearing in the talkies with two such experienced and accomplished ‘scene stealers’ as her brothers. 1955 T. Sterling Evil of Day xviii. 193 These lousy actors are all scene-stealers. 1960 Vogue Pattern Bk. No. 4. 51 The addition of demure puffed sleeves makes it the scene-stealer of more sedate occasions. 1977 M. Hinxman One-way Cemetery xiii. 94 It's not the leading role, but it's a scene-stealer. 2012 Independent 27 Jan. 51/2 Of the men, it's not often that that dullard Don Ottavio is a scene-stealer, but Matthew Polenzani most certainly was. scene-stealing n. and adj. (a) n. the action or fact of dominating a performance, either by inadvertently outshining the other performers, or by intentionally becoming the centre of attention (cf. to steal the scene at steal v.¹ 4h); (b) adj. that dominates a performance in this way. ΚΠ 1934 N.Y. Amsterdam News 6 Oct. 6/2 It has gone in for group acting instead of individual starring and scene stealing. 1963 Times 29 Jan. 11/1 Mr. Craig's is a good, workmanly Cavaradossi, a little stiff and never scene-stealing. 1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Mar. 323/2 A small but scene-stealing knockabout part. 1994 R. Beadle in M. Cordner et al. Eng. Comedy 12 Reviews of modern productions seldom fail to comment on his antics, and in truth such scene-stealing can be a welcome relief. 2012 N.Y. Mag. 30 Apr. 82/1 She plays Emily Blunt's wacky, scene-stealing younger sister who gets knocked up and shotgun-married. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022). scenev. Brit. /siːn/, U.S. /sin/ Forms: see scene n. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: scene n. Etymology: < scene n. Now rare. transitive (chiefly in passive). To present in or as if in a scene or scenes; to stage or set (a play, novel, etc.) in particular location, setting, manner, etc.In quot. 1640: to focus (a narrative) on (a particular subject). ΚΠ ?1619 Epit. Richard Burbage (Sloane 1786) f. 95 This life's a play Sceaned out by natures Arte Where euery man hath his allotted parte. 1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 151 This prodigall young Gallant, on whom the Subject of our Discourse is here Sceaned. 1691 W. Sancroft Let. 11 Nov. (1757) 22 Our course of employment, and action [continues] the very same, only not scened so illustriously, nor set off with so good company, and conversation. 1822 S. T. Coleridge Notebks. (1990) IV. 4871 A tradition so absurdly scened, dated, and trans-personed as to be of no more worth than a Romance. 1870 O. Logan Before Footlights xxxvi. 525 Fancy plays dressed like this, scened in a similar manner, carelessly acted, and preceded and followed by melancholy tunes from a shabby orchestra. 1887 Bookseller 16 Dec. 1392/1 It is difficult to say why the story was not ‘scened’ in Devonshire. 1936 J. Steinbeck Let. Apr. in Of Mice & Men (1994) Introd. p. xvi [Of Mice and Men] is neither a novel nor a play..written in novel form but so scened and set that it can be played as it stands. 1948 New Castle (Pa.) News 13 Dec. 21/2 The play..will be scened in fantastic colors, lines and shapes. Derivatives ˈscening n. ΚΠ 1736 A. Hill in tr. Voltaire Alzira Epil. p. xiii I can't, from such High Scening, Descend, plum down at once,—to Double-meaning. a1750 A. Hill Wks. (1753) I. 105 It were a downright shame, if these good people, who gave the Tragedy all its merit, of fine dressing and sceneing, should be suffered to lose their money. 1988 R. Schechner Performance Theory (rev. ed.) iii. 77 I assume that plays ‘present’ themselves to their authors as scenes, that this scening is coexistent with playwriting. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1481v.?1619
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scenen.

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Compounds

scenev.

Derivatives