showstoppern.
/ˈʃəʊstɒpə/, U.S. /ˈʃoʊˌstɑpər/ Originally U.S.
1.
a. A performance which or performer who receives prolonged applause from the audience; one that ‘stops the show’ (see to stop the show at stop v. 21c(b)).
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > a performance > item in > type of item
hit1811
star turn1885
sister act1893
showstopper1916
patter act1941
single act1952
bomb1954
stunt-
1916 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 26 Sept. 10/2 (advt.) Anniversary Vaudeville Festival. ‘The Volunteers’. Sure Fire Show Stoppers.
1932 Billboard 16 Apr. 10/4 A brother and sister team of dancers, who are sure show-stoppers with their closing toe-stair work.
1953 N. Coward Noël Coward Song Bk. 76 ‘The Stately Homes of England’ was what is colloquially known as a ‘show stopper’.
1981 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Feb. 202/3 Despite the inclusion of..other operatic items,..the real show-stoppers were the ‘Bird Song’, [etc.].
2002 Time Out N.Y. 26 Dec. 142/2 Wolfe pulls off one bravura showstopper after another proving that the hottest dancing and singing..is nowhere near Broadway.
b. In extended use: a particularly impressive, striking, or attractive person or thing.
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1937 Southtown Economist (Chicago) 29 Aug. 7/3 (advt.) Hudson Seal Plush Coats. Jet black! Authentically styled! ‘Show stopper’ priced at 23.50.
1953 Pop. Mech. Mar. 114/1 Show stoppers were five ‘dream cars’ built by the various divisions to demonstrate new styling effects.
1984 J. Rosso & S. Lukins Silver Palate Good Times Cookbk. (1985) ii. vii. 191 Fresh dill, sage, and rosemary tame the fish's strong flavor, and the flambéed gin makes it a show stopper!
2004 Wanderlust June 120/1 And she was a show-stopper, too—a blue-eyed, yellow-tufted infant is not a common sight in China.
2. Originally Aeronautics, now often Computing. A technical failure, complication, or fault that impedes a schedule, programme, or product function or release. Hence more generally: anything that creates an obstacle to further progress.
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1968 P. T. Farish in Govt.-Industry Syst. Safety Conf. (NASA Safety Office) 136/1 Fortunately, there were very few ‘show stopper’ problems identified... However, those few 'show stoppers' that were found were significant.
1981 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 13 Apr. Flight director Neil Hutchinson said.., ‘We have nothing that's a real show-stopper.’
1994 PC Mag. Aug. 344/3 None of your Windows applications can access your modem when NRN is not running... This could be a showstopper for many users.
2006 Washington Post 18 Jan. c10/1 She's pretty sure she does not want kids... I really don't want to break up with her but I do know this is a showstopper.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1916