sideshow attractions
Freak show exhibits
Sideshow attractions are the unusual exhibits and performers displayed alongside a circus or carnival's main event.
Historically these included human oddities—bearded ladies, conjoined twins, giants, and dwarfs—as well as trained animals and illusions.
The term now applies broadly to any secondary spectacle competing for attention: The scandal became a sideshow attraction to the actual trial.
- freakAbnormal deviation from typical
- barkerShow entrance promoter
- acrobaticsSkilled physical feats
- carnival gamesFairground skill challenges
- clownComedic performer in makeup
contortionist · snake charmers · fire-eating · human cannonball · juggling · tent · strongman · wax museums · oddity · dunk tanks · hall of mirrors · penny arcade · stilts · haunted houses · bearded ladies · tattooed lady · two-headed calf · wild man
sideshow attractionsmain event
Featured performance or contest
main attraction · headliner · center ring · star attraction · top billing
sideshow attractionshigh art
Culturally elevated creative works
legitimate theater · fine arts · family entertainment · cultural institution · symphony orchestra
sideshow attractionsthree-ring circus
Chaotic, overwhelming situation
grand spectacle · blockbuster show · stadium concert · opera · arena show
side, show, sides, sided, siding, sidelong, sideways, sideway, alongside