byplay
Secondary stage action
Byplay is secondary action happening alongside the main event—the quiet exchanges, gestures, or side conversations that occur while attention is focused elsewhere.
The term comes from theater, where actors engage in byplay to create realistic background activity: There was amusing byplay between the two servants while the leads delivered their speeches.
It extends to any incidental interaction that runs parallel to the primary action: The byplay between committee members was more interesting than the testimony itself.
Brief theatrical digression
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- schtickTrademark comedic routine
- muggingRobbery with violence
repartee · ensemble · timing · cue · blocking · scene-stealing · hamming · double-take
Quick, clever conversation
- quipBrief, clever remark
- wisecrackFlippant clever remark
- teasingPlayful, mild ridicule
- ribbingAffectionate verbal teasing
jest · back-and-forth · sparring · crosstalk · raillery · persiflage · badinage · pleasantry
Communicative body movement
eye-roll · nudge · shrug · side-eye · body-language · signaling · grimace · grin
Oblique disparaging remark
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- hintIndirect suggestion
- allusionIndirect reference to something
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
undertone · suggestion · undercurrent · inference · intimation · unspoken · coded · oblique
Minor and unplanned
- tangentialBarely connected to main point
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
- sidebarAncillary text box
- digressionVeering off topic
minor · subordinate · ancillary · parenthetical · marginal · offstage · subplot · sideshow
Crafty and calculating
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
collusion · double-dealing · underhanded · manipulation · behind-the-scenes · gamesmanship · political · faction
aside
Brief theatrical digression
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- schtickTrademark comedic routine
mugging · repartee · ensemble · timing · cue · blocking · scene-stealing · hamming · double-take · reaction
repartee
Quick, clever conversation
ribbing · jest · back-and-forth · sparring · crosstalk · raillery · persiflage · badinage · pleasantry · retort
gesture
Communicative body movement
smirk · eye-roll · nudge · shrug · side-eye · body-language · signaling · grimace · grin · sidelong
innuendo
Oblique disparaging remark
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- hintIndirect suggestion
- allusionIndirect reference to something
insinuation · undertone · suggestion · undercurrent · inference · intimation · unspoken · coded · oblique · elliptical
incidental
Minor and unplanned
- tangentialBarely connected to main point
- peripheralExternal computer add-on
- sidebarAncillary text box
digression · minor · subordinate · ancillary · parenthetical · marginal · offstage · subplot · sideshow · diversion
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
- plottingDevising a secret plan
conniving · collusion · double-dealing · underhanded · manipulation · behind-the-scenes · gamesmanship · political · faction · cabal
- stage devicessoliloquy, monologue, stage whisper, fourth wall break, dramatic irony
byplaymain event
Featured performance or contest
climax · headline act · main plot · center stage · focal point
play, player, playful, playing, played, plays, players, bystander, replay