核心畫面

One way to hold this word: a person standing in front of a room, acting out a word without being allowed to speak, while everyone watches and calls out guesses. Two things are true at once in that picture. There is a performance, and everyone in the room knows it is a performance. Hold on to both halves, because the harsher modern meaning comes from keeping the performance and letting the audience keep knowing.

可以想成一個人站在大家面前,不能開口,只能用動作把一個字演出來,其他人一邊看一邊猜。這個畫面裡同時有兩件事。一是有人更多收起可以想成一個人站在大家面前,不能開口,只能用動作把一個字演出來,其他人一邊看一邊猜。這個畫面裡同時有兩件事。一是有人在演,二是在場的人都知道那是演的。兩半都要記住,因為今天那個比較刺的意思,就是把「演」留著,也把「大家都知道是演的」留著,只是沒有人喊停。

From the word’s history

The word comes from French charade, meaning prattle or a kind of riddle, probably from Occitan charrada, to chat. The acted party game began as an acted version of that riddle: the modern singular is described as a clipping of acting charade, now usually understood as a back-formation from charades.

這個字來自法文 charade(閒聊、一種謎語),再往前可能來自奧克語 charrada(聊天)。用演的派對遊戲,最早是把那種謎語演出來的版本;今天的單數形被描述為 acting charade 的縮略,現在一般則被當成從複數 charades 逆推回來的形式。

Wiktionary entry for charade, etymology_text supplied in this packet (French charade / charrade, from Occitan charrada + -ada; 'originally a clipping of acting charade but now usually understood and formed as a back-formation from charades').

Two branches

不出聲,用演的

這一組就是核心畫面本身:意思靠身體傳出去,嘴巴完全不用。

noun · B1

A party game in which one player acts out a word, title, or phrase using only movements and no words at all, while the other players try to guess it.

比手畫腳(遊戲)

演給人看的假場面

把遊戲搬到真實的場合:一樣有人在演,一樣大家都知道,只是這次沒有人喊停,也沒有人覺得好笑。

noun · C1

Something that people keep doing or saying as if it were true or serious, when it clearly is not. It is a show put on to cover what is really happening.

假象;做戲