buffoonery

English

Etymology

buffoon + suffix -ery

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA: /bəˈfuːnəri/

Noun

buffoonery (plural buffooneries)

1. foolishness, silliness; the behaviour expected of a buffoon.
   • 1693: William Congreve, The Old Bachelor

     Araminta, come, I'll talk seriously to you now; could you but see with my eyes the buffoonery of one scene of address, a lover, set out with all his equipage and appurtenances; ...

   • 1814: Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

     One could not expect anybody to take such a part. Nothing but buffoonery from beginning to end.

   • before 1891: P.T. Barnum, quoted in The Life of Phineas T. Barnum [1]

     The Temperance Reform was too serious a matter for trifling jokes and buffooneries.