What is "charade"

Charade \Cha*rade"\, n. [F. charade, cf. Pr. charrada long chat, It ciarlare to chat, whence E. charlatan.] A verbal or acted enigma based upon a word which has two or more significant syllables or parts, each of which, as well as the word itself, is to be guessed from the descriptions or representations.

1776, from French charade (18c.), probably from Provençal charrado "long talk, chatter," of obscure origin, perhaps from charrar "to chatter, gossip," of echoic origin. Compare Italian ciarlare, Spanish charlar "to talk, prattle." Originally not silent, but relying rather on enigmatic descriptions of the words or syllables.\n\nAs we have ever made it a Rule to shew our Attention to the Reader, by 'catching the Manners living, as they rise,' as Mr. Pope expresses it, we think ourselves obliged to give Place to the following Specimens of a new Kind of SMALL WIT, which, for some Weeks past, has been the Subject of Conversation in almost every Society, from the Court to the Cottage. The CHARADE is, in fact, a near Relation of the old Rebus. It is usually formed from a Word of two Syllables; the first Syllable is described by the Writer; then the second; they are afterwards united and the whole Word marked out ....

[supplement to "The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure," volumes 58-59, 1776]

\nAmong the examples given are:\n

\nMy first makes all nature appear of one face;\n
At the next we find music, and beauty and grace;\n
And, if this Charade is most easily read,\n
I think that the third shou'd be thrown at my head.\n

[The answer is "snow-ball."]\n

\nThe silent form, the main modern form, was at first a variant known as dumb charades and at first it was not a speed contest; rather it adhered to the old pattern, and the performing team acted out all the parts in order before the audience team began to guess.\n\nThere is one species of charade which is performed solely by "dumb motions," somewhat resembling the child's game of "trades and professions"; but the acting charade is a much more amusing, and more difficult matter.

["Goldoni, and Modern Italian Comedy," in "The Foreign And Colonial Quarterly Review," Volume 6, 1846]

\nAn 1850 book, "Acting Charades," reports that Charades en Action were all the rage in French society, and that "Lately, the game has been introduced into the drawing-rooms of a few mirth-loving Englishmen. Its success has been tremendous." Welsh siarad obviously is a loan-word from French or English, but its meaning of "speak, a talk" is closer to the Provençal original.

n. 1 A specific kind of riddle in which a word or phrase to find is split in several parts that can each be guessed from a verbal clue. 2 (qualifier: in plural) A party game in which players mime a word, phrase, or name that the other players must try to guess. 3 Something apparently real but based on pretence/pretense.

1. n. a composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way [syn: parody, lampoon, spoof, sendup, mockery, takeoff, burlesque, travesty, pasquinade, put-on]

2. a word acted out in an episode of the game of charades

Charade may refer to:

• Charades, a parlor game

Charade is a 1953 American film directed by Roy Kellino. It consists of three short stories starring James Mason and his wife Pamela Mason.

"Charade" is a ballad written by Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb released in 1974 by the Bee Gees. It was the third and final single released from the Mr. Natural album. This track was edited to 3:14 for its single version. Like the parent album, the single was not a hit and only managed to climb to #31 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in late 1974. It did reach the Top 10 in Chile, peaking at #7.

"Charade" is a sad, lonely parisian waltz composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer performed in the 1963 film of the same name starring by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It was nominated that year for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Charade is a 1984 animated Canadian film directed by John Minnis. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 57th Academy Awards (as of 2015, the only student film to do so). The film was animated by Minnis with Pantone markers on paper, during a single three-month summer term at Sheridan College.

"Charade" is the seventh episode of the American television series Revenge, it premiered on ABC on November 2, 2011.

It was co-written by Mark B. Perry and Joe Fazzio and directed by Sanford Bookstaver.

Charade is a 1963 Technicolor American romantic comedy/ mystery film directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The cast also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin. It spans three genres: suspense thriller, romance and comedy. Because Universal Pictures published the movie with an invalid copyright notice, the film entered the public domain in the United States immediately upon its release.

The film is notable for its screenplay, especially the repartee between Grant and Hepburn, for having been filmed on location in Paris, for Henry Mancini's score and theme song, and for the animated titles by Maurice Binder. Charade has received generally positive reviews from critics, and was additionally noted to contain influences of genres such as whodunit, screwball and spy thriller; it has also been referred to as "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made".

Charade is the thirteenth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in late 1995 on WEA/ Warner Music.

After a three-year-long artistic and legal dispute with her label EMI Music Alice signed with WEA in 1995 and then released her first studio album since 1992's Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi, the both musically and lyrically introspective and contemplative Charade featuring contributions from musicians such as King Crimson's Trey Gunn, several tracks with British improvisational solo violinist Stuart Gordon and acoustic tracks with the American/Belgian/Japanese California Guitar Trio. Charade further developed the use of minimalist ambient/ avant-garde backgrounds, fractured guitars and woodwind, muted trumpets and accordion set against programmed TR-808 rhythms, influenced by dance music genres like electronica and contemporary R&B, fused with world music samples and looped vocals.

Lead single "Dammi la mano amore" was also included as an ambient dub mix on the album, entitled Devogue version, and the second edition of Charade added an R&B influenced remix as a bonus track. "In piedi su uno specchio" was later to reappear as part of a collaborative crossover/ambient/fusion project called Devogue, a forty-five-minute sound collage which featured Alice, producer Francesco Messina, Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison and composer and singer Juri Camisasca among others, released on the independent label CNI in 1997. Alice sings lead vocals on five of the album's thirteen titles; "Midnight Bells", "In piedi su uno specchio", "Le condizioni del tempo (a.m.)", "Palmenhaus" and "Il cielo sopra il cielo", the latter which would appear on the album Exit the following year.

Both "Dammi la mano amore" and the second single "Non ero mai sola" were later to be included in the 2000 career retrospective Personal Jukebox.

Charade is the first album by the group formerly known as Bonfire. It was released in 1998 by Bareknuckle. The album was originally recorded in 1993 by the group when they were known as Bonfire. When Claus Lessmann left the band, Michael Bormann joined and recorded this album. It was shelved by the band's record company and the group went their separate ways. After Claus Lessmann and Hans Ziller purchased the rights to the name of Bonfire and music from 1986–1991, Michael Bormann and Angel Schleifer decided to give the previously shelved album a chance. It was picked up by a Japanese record company and under a new name it was released. Jörg Deisinger and Edgar Patrik provide the bass and drums to the album but declined to be included in the line-up. This album has become a hot item for Bonfire fans, especially since in 2004 it was re-released with Charade's second album. In addition to the music, there is a file encoded on the disc that brings up Avex Incorporated's web site.