The show must go on

In this article, The show must go on will be addressed from a multidisciplinary and updated perspective, in order to exhaustively analyze and understand all aspects related to this topic. A journey will be made through the historical background, the different current theories and approaches, as well as the practical and social implications that The show must go on entails. It will seek to offer a complete and balanced vision that allows the reader to acquire comprehensive knowledge about this issue that is so relevant today.
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).
Look up the show must go on in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"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

References

  1. ^ Rogers, James T. (1985). The Dictionary of Cliches. New York: Facts on File Publications. ISBN 0-8160-1010-2.
  2. ^ Partridge, Eric (1977). Dictionary of Catch Phrases. London: Routledge & Paul. ISBN 0-8128-2321-4.
  3. ^ Holding, Elizabeth Sanxay (1941). Speak of the Devil. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce. OCLC 9317974.
  4. ^ "The Show Must Go On". American Notes and Queries. Philadelphia: William Brotherhead. January 1943.
  5. ^ Cambridge Idioms dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006. ISBN 0-521-86037-7.
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