comedy of errors

A complex or humorous series of events, as in Mary and John went to the Smiths', while the Smiths went to the Parkers', and the Parkers wondered why no one answered the door at John and Mary's—a true comedy of errors. The term borrows the title of Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, about two sets of twin brothers, master and slave, who are separated in infancy, and the mix-ups occurring when they arrive in the same place many years later. [c. 1600]

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Example Sentences

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That trip was essentially a comedy of errors.

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Another cost-cutting move — outsourcing design and manufacturing of Dreamliner components to subcontractors around the world — resulted in a comedy of errors causing so many problems that executives acknowledged it would have been cheaper to keep the work in-house.

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For Ethan, the issues facing the entertainment industry is a "comedy of errors".

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Shakespeare Out on the Town: Central Park’s Delacorte Theater is being renovated, so a musical version of “The Comedy of Errors” is touring some of New York City’s outdoor spaces.

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Behind her, the cast and crew of the Public Theater’s bilingual musical version of “The Comedy of Errors,” performed in Spanish and English, accomplished their preshow rituals.

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comedy comedy of manners

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