Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since ca. 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment, especially light entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side (including managers, agents, producers and distributors) to the creative element (including artists, performers, writers, musicians and technicians). The term was in common usage throughout the 20th century but the first known use in print dates from 1850. At that time and for several decades it always included an initial the. By the latter part of the century it had acquired a slightly arcane quality associated with the era of variety, but the term is still in active use.<
Famous quotes containing the words show and/or business:
“The English Bible—a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
“The most sensible people to be met with in society are men of business and of the world, who argue from what they see and know, instead of spinning cobweb distinctions of what things ought to be.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)