Crossword clues for follies
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Folly \Fol"ly\, n.; pl. Follies. [OE. folie, foli, F. folie, fr. fol, fou, foolish, mad. See Fool.]
The state of being foolish; want of good sense; levity, weakness, or derangement of mind.
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A foolish act; an inconsiderate or thoughtless procedure; weak or light-minded conduct; foolery.
What folly 'tis to hazard life for ill.
--Shak. -
Scandalous crime; sin; specifically, as applied to a woman, wantonness.
[Achan] wrought folly in Israel.
--Josh. vii. 15.When lovely woman stoops to folly.
--Goldsmith. -
The result of a foolish action or enterprise.
It is called this man's or that man's ``folly,'' and name of the foolish builder is thus kept alive for long after years.
--Trench.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"glamorous theatrical revue with lots of pretty girls," 1880, from French folies (mid-19c.), from folie (see folly), probably in its sense of "extravagance" (compare extravaganza).
Wiktionary
n. 1 (folly English) 2 (context uncountable English) A lavishly-produced theatrical revue characterized by major stars, huge casts, and opulent costumes and scenery.
WordNet
n. a revue with elaborate costuming
Wikipedia
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies", a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies), that played in that theatre between the world wars. It focuses on two couples, Buddy and Sally Durant Plummer and Benjamin and Phyllis Rogers Stone, who are attending the reunion. Sally and Phyllis were showgirls in the Follies. Both couples are deeply unhappy with their marriages. Buddy, a traveling salesman, is having an affair with a girl on the road; Sally is still as much in love with Ben as she was years ago; and Ben is so self-absorbed that Phyllis feels emotionally abandoned. Several of the former showgirls perform their old numbers, sometimes accompanied by the ghosts of their former selves.
The Broadway production opened on April 4, 1971, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, and with choreography by Bennett. The musical was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won seven. The original production, which ultimately lost its entire investment, ran for 522 performances. The piece has enjoyed a number of major revivals, and several of its songs have become standards, including "Broadway Baby", "I'm Still Here", "Too Many Mornings", "Could I Leave You?", and " Losing My Mind".
Follies or Folies may refer to:
- Folies Bergère, building in Paris
- Follies, 1971 musical stage production
Usage examples of "follies".
The money was intended for extravagant follies, and by applying it to my own frolics I did not turn it into a very different, channel.
I sat down before him and for three consecutive hours I narrated scandalous histories unnumerable, which, however, I told simply and not spicily, since I felt ascetically disposed and obliged myself to speak with a contrition I did not feel, for when I recounted my follies I was very far from finding the remembrance of them disagreeable.
As he had not sufficient wit to amuse himself with the follies of other kings and with the absurdities of humankind, he kept four buffoons, who are called fools in Germany, although these degraded beings are generally more witty than their masters.
She spoke very artfully, and after confessing she had done wrong she said that at my age I should have been ready to overlook the follies of a young and passionate girl.
It would be ridiculous, of course, to attribute this cure to such follies, but at the same time I think it would be wrong to assert that they did not in any way contribute to it.
He had been very extravagant with women, and more than one of them had committed many follies for him.
Bragadin would only tell me that I was giving him a repetition of the foolish life he had himself led at my age, but that I must prepare to pay the penalty of my follies, and to feel the punishment when I should reach his time of life.
I allayed her anxiety by a thousand follies which made her laugh heartily.
It is evident that, if that system be true, women ought to be forgiven for all the follies which they commit on account of love, whilst man is inexcusable, and I should be in despair if I happened to place you in a position to become a mother.
We expected to have a very dull supper, but the witty sayings of that gentleman enlivened us and you cannot imagine of what follies we were guilty after partaking of some champagne punch.
I should be happy if I thought that my errors or rather follies would serve as a warning to the readers of these Memoirs.
I paid him a visit on my return from Spain, but I shall relate our meeting when I come to my adventures, my pleasures, my misfortunes, and above all my follies there, for of such threads was the weft of my life composed, and folly was the prominent element.
For our contemporaries, the companions, of our youthful follies, we have a kind of contempt, somewhat similar to that which we entertain for ourselves.
If you once begin on this plan you are not only compelled to record all your vices and follies, but to treat them in the severe tone of a philosophical historian.
The philosophic emperor dissembled his follies, lamented his early death, and cast a decent veil over his memory.