kayfabe
A w:professional wrestlingprofessional wrestler executing a “dropkick”. The performance requires athleticism and actual blows, but is scripted and intended to minimize serious injury. Kayfabe involves hiding those aspects from the general public.
Meanings
Noun
- The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.
- Similar fakery or suspension of disbelief in other contexts.
Adjective
- Of or related to kayfabe, especially forbidden to mention or show in order to maintain kayfabe.
Verb
- To maintain kayfabe, to deceive by staying in character.
Related
Similar words
Opposite words
Origin
- Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang ("carny"), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition "be fake" formed through back slang or mangled pig Latin. Also sometimes attributed to an alteration of cave (Latin for "beware"), keep cavey ("stay alert"), or an eponymous figure named Kay Fabe or Kay Fabian.
Modern English dictionary
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