Etymology Borrowed from Middle French farce (“farce (style of humor); stuffing”) (in the latter sense, via Middle English fars, farsse), from Old French farse, from Medieval Latin farsa, from the feminine perfect passive participle of Latin farciō (“to stuff”). The theatre sense alludes to the pleasant and varied character of certain stuffed food items. Doublet of farse.
1
A style of humor marked by broad improbabilities with little regard to regularity or method.
2
A motion picture or play featuring this style of humor.
The farce that we saw last night had us laughing and shaking our heads at the same time.
Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language[…]; his clerks […] understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there.1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
3
A situation abounding with ludicrous incidents.
The first month of labor negotiations was a farce.
The first match in the magnificent new national stadium was a Euro 2012 qualifier between Romania and France that soon descended into farce as the pitch cut up and players struggled to maintain their footing. Amorebieta at times seemed to be paying homage to that game, but nobody else seemed to have a problem; it was just that Falcao was far better than him.2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian:
4
A ridiculous or empty show.
The United States, he declared, was "a farce controlled by dirty, hook-nosed, circumcised Jew bastards."2019, Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz, Mark Oppenheimer, The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia - From Abraham to Zabar's and Everything in Between:
Etymology From Middle English farcen, from Old French farsir, farcir, from Latin farciō (“to cram, stuff”). Doublet of farse.
1
To stuff with forcemeat or other food items.
The lunch […] consisted […] of […] lobster mayonnaise, cold game sausages, an immense veal and ham pie farced with eggs, truffles, and numberless delicious flavours; besides kickshaws, creams and sweetmeats.1923, Walter de la Mare, Seaton's Aunt:
[I]f thou would’ſt farce thy leane Ribs with it [pork] too, they would not (like ragged Lathes) rub out ſo many Dublets as they do: […]1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published 1600, →OCLC, Act V, scene iii, signature [P iiij], recto:
farcing his letter with fustian1615, George Sandys, “(please specify the page)”, in The Relation of a Iourney Begun An: Dom: 1610. […], London: […] [Richard Field] for W. Barrett, →OCLC:
5
Alternative Alternative form of farse (“to insert vernacular paraphrases into (a Latin liturgy)”).