stage business

busi•ness

(ˈbɪz nɪs)

n. 1. an occupation, profession, or trade. 2. the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit. 3. a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service. 4. volume of trade; patronage or custom. 5. a store, office, factory, etc., where commerce is carried on. 6. that with which a person is principally and seriously concerned: Words are a writer's business. 7. something with which a person is rightfully concerned: Their decision is none of my business. 8. affair; project: fed up with the whole business. 9. the business, a. harsh or duplicitous treatment. b. a severe scolding: to give someone the business. 10. Also called stage business. a movement or gesture used by an actor to create an effect. 11. excrement: used as a euphemism. adj. 12. of or pertaining to business or its procedures. 13. suitable for or conducive to doing business. Idioms: 1. get down to business, to apply oneself to serious matters; concentrate on work. 2. mean business, to be in earnest; be entirely serious. 3. mind one's own business, to refrain from meddling in the affairs of others. [before 950; Middle English; Old English bisignes. See busy, -ness]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

stage business - incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic effect; "his business with the cane was hilarious"byplay, businessacting, performing, playacting, playing - the performance of a part or role in a dramaschtick, schtik, shtick, shtik - (Yiddish) a contrived and often used bit of business that a performer uses to steal attention; "play it straight with no shtik"