comic-opera

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com·ic-op·er·a

(kŏm′ĭk-ŏp′ər-ə, -ŏp′rə)

adj.

Not to be taken seriously: comic-opera politics; a comic-opera style of uniform.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

com′ic op′era

opera with spoken dialogue, comical scenes or characters, and a happy ending.

[1905–10]

com′ic-op′era

adj.

farcically inept or inane.

[1905–10]

References in periodicals archive ?

Tenor Lawrence Wiliford, featured on one track, continues to show his versatility--from comic-opera clown to serious recitalist.

Messiaen: Chants De Terre Et De Ciel

But GOP Senate primary victor Katherine Harris, whose campaign against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson had long ago devolved into a comic-opera fiasco, never received one--and not because it had slipped into her spam filter.

No respect

At the same time, the Pathet Lao, a communist-controlled insurgency supported by the North Vietnamese, was attempting to overthrow the country's comic-opera oligarchy.