# slapstick

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #38,168

## Definitions
1. A style of humor focusing on physical comedy, such as slipping on a banana peel, and with foolish characters who get into humiliating situations.
2. A pair of sticks attached at one end and used to create a slapping sound effect, used especially in slapstick comedy; a type of clapper.

## Etymology
From slap + stick, calque of Italian batacchio. The pair of sticks was used by the comic character Harlequin in the commedia dell'arte.

## Common misspellings (15)
`lsapstick`, `salpstick`, `slappstick`, `slapsitck`, `slapsstick`, `slapstcik`, `slapsticck`, `slapstickk`, `slapstikc`, `slapsttick`, `slaptsick`, `slasptick`, `sllapstick`, `slpastick`, `sslapstick`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/slapstick