"The show must go on" is a phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phrase.
The saying and principle are traditional in the theatre, but they both originated in the 19th century with circuses. If an animal got loose or a performer was injured, the ringmaster and the band tried to keep things going so that the crowd would not panic[1] because "it is a point of honour not to let the other players down by deserting them when no understudy is available".[2]
Later on, the phrase was more broadly applied to the hotel business[3] and show business in general.[4] Eventually, the phrase was used to convey the idea that an event or activity must continue even if there are problems or difficulties, with or without regard to actual show business.[5]
show, must, this, article, about, english, phrase, song, queen, show, must, queen, song, other, uses, disambiguation, phrase, show, business, meaning, that, regardless, what, happens, whatever, show, been, planned, still, staged, waiting, patrons, there, evide. This article is about the English phrase For the song by Queen see The Show Must Go On Queen song For other uses see The show must go on disambiguation The show must go on is a phrase in show business meaning that regardless of what happens whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phrase The saying and principle are traditional in the theatre but they both originated in the 19th century with circuses If an animal got loose or a performer was injured the ringmaster and the band tried to keep things going so that the crowd would not panic 1 because it is a point of honour not to let the other players down by deserting them when no understudy is available 2 Later on the phrase was more broadly applied to the hotel business 3 and show business in general 4 Eventually the phrase was used to convey the idea that an event or activity must continue even if there are problems or difficulties with or without regard to actual show business 5 See also editVesti la giubba Recitar a sad clown s aria from Pagliacci List of entertainers who died during a performanceReferences edit Rogers James T 1985 The Dictionary of Cliches New York Facts on File Publications ISBN 0 8160 1010 2 Partridge Eric 1977 Dictionary of Catch Phrases London Routledge amp Paul ISBN 0 8128 2321 4 Holding Elizabeth Sanxay 1941 Speak of the Devil New York Duell Sloan and Pearce OCLC 9317974 The Show Must Go On American Notes and Queries Philadelphia William Brotherhead January 1943 Cambridge Idioms dictionary Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2006 ISBN 0 521 86037 7 nbsp This article about the English language is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The show must go on amp oldid 1175194851, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
