sideshow
Americannoun
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a minor show or exhibition in connection with a principal one, as at a circus.
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any subordinate event or matter.
noun
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a small show or entertainment offered in conjunction with a larger attraction, as at a circus or fair
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a subordinate event or incident
Etymology
Origin of sideshow
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
Explanation
The tattooed lady, sword swallower, and frog man are some of the people you might meet at a sideshow, a smaller show that's part of a carnival or circus. A sideshow is also something that distracts from a main event. The first sideshows happened at the Barnum & Bailey Circus, from the idea that some performers would be better viewed up close, instead of in a large tent. The popularity of sideshows grew through the first half of the 20th century. Attractions ranged from so-called "freaks" like the contortionists to tricks like sword swallowing and fire breathing. Today sideshow is often used for something that takes attention away from what's really important.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Surrealism continues to fuel artists’ and viewers’ imaginations, but it has increasingly become art’s carnival sideshow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
In seeking to explain his plunge into the fifth round, some pointed to concerns about Shedeur’s personality and the sideshow of being the son of “Coach Prime.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025
Modern accounting and investor trust have reduced dividends to a sideshow, but they used to be the whole point.
From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025
After that, his unclaimed body began its wanderings: as a greeter for an Oklahoma funeral home, as a sideshow attraction for touring carnivals, and even in a titillating 1933 pre-Code film, “Narcotic.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2025
The crowd that followed the parade back from town gathers in the midway, and before long Cecil is working the suckers in front of the sideshow.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
