Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A brief entertainment between two acts of a play; an entr'acte.
- noun A short movement separating the major sections of a lengthy composition or work.
- noun An independent instrumental composition having the character of such a movement.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A light and pleasing dramatic entertainment introduced between the acts of a tragedy, comedy, or grand opera; later, a ballet divertissement introduced in like manner.
- noun In music: A short musical work of light character inserted between the acts of a serious drama or opera; a burlesque or comedy. The intermezzo was the germ of the opera bouffe or comic opera.
- noun A short composition, without any definite musical form, introduced in an extended musical work, or a piece composed in a similar style.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Mus.) An interlude; an intermede. See
intermede .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A short piece of
music oract in theinterval of the mainspectacle ; a theatricalinterlude .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a short movement coming between the major sections of a symphony
- noun a brief show (music or dance etc) inserted between the sections of a longer performance
- noun a short piece of instrumental music composed for performance between acts of a drama or opera
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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To make this even more tedious, on page 397 (twenty-one pages after Rothko first walked into the ship's bar) there is a kind of intermezzo between these two redundant descriptions of that first night out, in which we are told: "In May of 1959 Mark and Mell Rothko were preparing to leave New York for their second trip to Europe."
Writing on Rothko Hunter, Sam 1994
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The album "Black Tears" was a kind of intermezzo featuring familiar songs next to a few previously unreleased songs.
Side-Line news feed 2009
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INSIDER TIP: Po recently launched an intermezzo meaning between lunch and dinner menu, so food is available all day long, and all items are $12 and under.
Michelle Won: My Trip to the Nutcracker and Dinner at Po, Which Ended Up Being Nutcracker Part 2 Michelle Won 2011
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Elsewhere there were wonderful moments of limpidity – as the first movement reaches its development, and in the intermezzo above all.
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Here's part one of that, and here's an intriguing intermezzo.
TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads Jason Linkins 2011
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INSIDER TIP: Po recently launched an intermezzo meaning between lunch and dinner menu, so food is available all day long, and all items are $12 and under.
Michelle Won: My Trip to the Nutcracker and Dinner at Po, Which Ended Up Being Nutcracker Part 2 Michelle Won 2011
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Mango sorbet was the intermezzo; a heart shaped chocolate garnish adding a second Valentines note to the meal.
Karen Dalton-Beninato: For Valentine's Romance, New Orleans Bistro Delivers Karen Dalton-Beninato 2011
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Mr. van Houten worked 20 years for Philips before returning to the Dutch company in October 2010 after a four-year intermezzo serving as CEO of NXP Semiconductors—which Philips spun off in 2006—and an independent consultant for Dutch bank and insurer ING.
Quick Action Is Essence of New Philips CEO's Strategy Archibald Preuschat 2011
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Mango sorbet was the intermezzo; a heart shaped chocolate garnish adding a second Valentines note to the meal.
Karen Dalton-Beninato: For Valentine's Romance, New Orleans Bistro Delivers Karen Dalton-Beninato 2011
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Now head chef at Cornell's Phi Kappa Psi house, he recently prepared an ornate meal for parents' weekend: salmon baked with chipotle remoulade, an intermezzo of blood orange sorbet, duck roasted with tart cherry sauce on pecan rice and three chocolate mousses.
Dude, Those Candied Walnuts Go Great at a Kegger Adam Thompson 2011
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