harlequin

[US]/'hɑ:likwin/
[UK]/ˈhɑrlɪkwɪn/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. a comic character, clown

Example Sentences

he lanced through Harlequins' midfield to score Swansea's lone try.

Oversized polka dots, harlequin shapes and chequerboard patterns are quirkily added to finish off the look.

Sixth in the Mackie series, Masquerade Ball™ Barbie& wears a multi-colored harlequin gown of vivid glass bugle beads sewn in diamond patterns, and accented with a velvety black overskirt.

a harlequin romance novel

the harlequin character in the play

a harlequin diamond pattern

to perform a harlequin dance

the harlequin color scheme

Real-world Examples

First presented in 1947, Bip was part harlequin, part homage to Charlie Chaplin's melancholy bumbler, the Little Tramp.

Source: The Economist - Arts

But in their new environments, the harlequins wiped out native ladybugs.

Source: Science in 60 Seconds Listening Compilation May 2013

So people began importing an Asian species called the harlequin ladybird as natural pest control.

Source: Science in 60 Seconds Listening Compilation May 2013

A parasite called microsporidia lies dormant in the circulatory systems of harlequin ladybirds.

Source: Science in 60 Seconds Listening Compilation May 2013

When European ladybug species eat the harlequin ladybird eggs and larvae, they also consume the microsporidia. And die.

Source: Science in 60 Seconds Listening Compilation May 2013

So suddenly to have this kind of harlequin effect is rather splendid, I think and totally unexpected.

Source: Classic styles of celebrities

In the street a travelling circus was passing, with mountebanks on donkeys and harlequins in parti-coloured dresses.

Source: The Gadfly (Original Version)

On buffet tables, garnished with glistening horsd'oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.

Source: The Great Gatsby (Original Version)

Thus, all the while Hepzibah was perfecting the scheme of her little shop, she had cherished an unacknowledged idea that some harlequin trick of fortune would intervene in her favor.

Source: Seven-angled Tower (Part 1)

A few clowns, harlequins, and acrobats, a circus-rider jumping through hoops, the painted columbine, and the hunchback performing various dull and foolish antics, represented the entire force of the company.

Source: The Gadfly (Original Version)

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