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showman

/ˈʃoʊmən/
IPA guide

Other forms: showmen

Definitions of showman
  1. noun
    a sponsor who books and stages public entertainments
    synonyms: impresario, promoter
    see moresee less
    examples:
    Phineas Taylor Barnum
    United States showman who popularized the circus (1810-1891)
    William Frederick Cody
    United States showman famous for his Wild West Show (1846-1917)
    Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev
    Russian ballet impresario who founded the Russian ballet and later introduced it to the West (1872-1929)
    Richard D'Oyly Carte
    English impresario who brought Gilbert and Sullivan together and produced many of their operettas in London (1844-1901)
    Solomon Hurok
    United States impresario who was born in Russia (1888-1974)
    Charles Ringling
    United States showman whose song-and-dance troop evolved into a circus (1863-1926)
    types:
    exhibitioner, exhibitor, shower
    someone who organizes an exhibit for others to see
    organ-grinder
    a street musician who plays a hand organ or hurdy-gurdy
    porn merchant, pornographer
    someone who presents shows or sells writing or pictures that are sexually explicit in violation of the community mores
    type of:
    booker, booking agent
    someone who engages a person or company for performances
  2. noun
    a person skilled at making effective presentations
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