horse opera

/'hɔ:s'ɔpərə/

Thân thiện

A cowboy rides his horse across the dusty plains in a classic horse opera.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A film about life in the western United States during the period of exploration and development: "Horse opera" is a slang term, primarily used in American English, for a movie or television show with a Western theme, typically featuring cowboys, frontier life, and conflicts in the American Old West.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • My grandfather loves watching old black-and-white horse operas on Saturday afternoons.
  • The film festival is featuring a series of classic horse operas from the 1950s.

Advanced Usage

• The term "horse opera" is informal and sometimes used humorously or dismissively to describe a formulaic Western. It draws a comparison between the dramatic, often melodramatic plots of these films and the emotional storytelling in soap operas or grand opera.
  • Critics might call it a predictable horse opera, but fans adore its thrilling chase scenes.

Variants and Related Words

• Western (n): The standard, more formal term for this genre of film or television.
  • "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is a famous Spaghetti Western.

Synonyms

• Western: A film, television show, or novel set in the western United States in the 19th century.
• Oater: Another informal slang term for a Western movie.

Related Idioms

• While not a phrasal verb, the term itself is an idiomatic expression. It combines "horse" (central to the Western setting) and "opera" (implying a dramatic, larger-than-life story).

Học thuật

Noun

1. a film about life in the western United States during the period of exploration and development

Từ đồng nghĩa

• western