backstory
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See also: back-story and back story
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From back- (prefix meaning ‘in, into, or towards the past’) + story.[1][2]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbækˌstɔːɹi/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbækˌstɔɹi/
- Hyphenation: back‧story
Noun
[edit]backstory (plural backstories)
- The previous experiences and life of a person, specifically (narratology, especially in film, television) a character in a dramatic work.
- Synonym: background story
- Coordinate term: exposition
- What’s the backstory of our new colleague?
- 2004 January 15, Kelly Kleiman, “Her side of the story [review of Ophelia by Bryony Lavery, performed by the Camenae Ensemble Theatre Company]”, in Chicago Reader[1], Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Reader, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-26:
- 2005 July 15, A[nthony] O[liver] Scott, “Looking for the candy, finding a back story [review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)]”, in The New York Times[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-10-08:
- Inexplicably, and at great risk to the integrity of the movie, the filmmakers have burdened him with a psychological back story pulled out of a folder in some studio filing cabinet. Why does [Willy] Wonka spend his days confecting sweets?
- 2013 March 1, Kaz [i.e., Kazimieras Gediminas Prapuolenis], Kim Roberson, Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft, John Mathot, “Sidetracked”, in Phineas and Ferb, season 4, episode 7, spoken by Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire):
- Agent Lyla: Enough back story! / Dr. Doofenshmirtz: Actually, that's not, uh … that's not really a back story, it's just expositional flashback. It doesn't, uh, have any childhood trauma, it's doesn't really inform who he is, it's not … it's just flashback. There's a difference. It's subtle, but there's a difference.
- 2017 December 27, “Editorial: The Guardian view on Prince Harry: the monarchy’s best insurance policy”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-29:
- Prince Harry may yet turn out to be the crown’s best insurance policy. By marrying Meghan Markle, he is linking royalty with a 21st-century celebrity who has a backstory that many people in Britain can identify with.
- (chiefly espionage, law enforcement) A fictitious account of a person's history designed to conceal their actual history and motives.
- Synonym: cover story
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?)(film, television) A prequel.
Alternative forms
[edit]Translations
[edit]previous experiences and life of a person
|
fictitious account of a person's history designed to conceal their actual history and motives
|
References
[edit]- ^ “back story, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, November 2023.
- ^ “backstory, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.
Further reading
[edit]backstory on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “backstory, n.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.