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{{short description|Word guessing game}}
{{
[[File:Game of Charades - 01.jpg|thumb|right|Man acting out a word
'''Charades''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ʃ|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|d|z}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ʃ|ə|ˈ|r|eɪ|d|z}})<ref name=oed>{{citation |contribution=charade, ''n.'' |title=Oxford English Dictionary, ''3rd ed.'' |date=2014 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |contribution-url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/30661}}.</ref> is a [[parlor game|parlor]] or [[party game|party]] [[word game|word]] [[guessing game]]. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the whole phrase together, while the rest of the group guessed. A variant was to have teams who acted scenes out together while the others guessed. Today, it is common to require the actors to [[mime]] their hints without using any spoken words, which requires some conventional
==History==
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A '''charade''' was a form of literary [[riddle]] popularized in [[France]] in the 18th century{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} where each syllable of the answer was described enigmatically as a separate word before the word as a whole was similarly described. The term ''charade'' was borrowed into English from French in the second half of the eighteenth century, denoting a "kind of riddle in which each syllable of a word, or a complete word or phrase, is enigmatically described or dramatically represented".
Written forms of charade appeared in magazines
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
When my first is a task to a young girl of spirit,
And my second confines her to finish the piece,
How hard is her fate! but how great is her merit
If by taking my whole she effects her release!<ref>
</poem>
The answer is "[[
[[William Mackworth Praed]]'s poetic charades<ref>{{citation |
Later examples omitted direct references to individual syllables, such as the following, said to be a favorite of [[Theodore Roosevelt]]:{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
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In the early 20th century, the [[Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition|11th edition]] of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' offered these two prose charades as "perhaps as good as could be selected":
{{quote|"My ''first'', with the most rooted antipathy to a [[French people|Frenchman]], prides himself, whenever they meet, upon sticking close to his jacket; my ''second'' has many virtues, nor is its least that it gives its name to my first; my ''whole'' may I never catch!"
}}
and
{{quote|"My ''first'' is company; my ''second'' shuns company; my ''third'' collects company; and my ''whole'' amuses company
}}
with the answers being [[wiktionary:tartar|tartar]] and [[Riddle|conundrum]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}
===Acted charades===
In the early 19th century, the French began performing "acting"{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} or "acted charades"{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}—with the written description replaced by dramatic performances as a [[parlor game]]—and this was brought over to Britain by the English aristocracy. Thus the term gradually became more popularly used to refer to
Thackeray snarked that charades were enjoyed for "enabling the many ladies amongst us who had beauty to display their charms, and the fewer number who had cleverness, to exhibit their wit".<ref name=vf/> In his ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'', the height of [[Rebecca Sharp (character)|Rebecca Sharp]]'s social success is brought on by her performances of acting charades before the [[George IV
By the time of the [[First World War]], "acting charades" had become the most popular form{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} and, as written charades were forgotten, it adopted its present, terser name.<ref name=oed/> Thackeray's scenes—even those said to be "in pantomime"—included dialogue from the actors<ref name=vf/> but truly "dumb" or "[[mime]] charades" gradually became more popular as well and similarly dropped their descriptive adjectives.<ref name=oed/> The amateurish acting involved in charades led to the word's use to describe any obvious or inept deception, but over time "a charade" became used more broadly for any put-on (even highly competent and successful ones) and its original association with the parlor game has largely been lost.<ref name=oed/>
The acted form of charades has been repeatedly made into [[television]] [[game show]]s, including the [[American television|American]] ''[[Play the Game (American game show)|Play the Game]]'', ''[[Paramount Television Network#Programs|Movietown, RSVP]]'', ''[[Pantomime Quiz]]'', ''
In the 1939 movie ''[[The Mystery of Mr. Wong]]'', the game is called "Indications".
==Rules==
[[File:Game of Charades - 02.jpg|thumb|right|Group guessing the acted
As a long-lived and informal game, charades' rules can vary widely. Common features of the game include holding up a number of fingers to indicate the number of syllables in the answer, silently replying to questions, and making a "come on" gesture once the guesses become close; some forms of the games, however, forbid anything except physically acting out the answer. In a mixed setting, it is therefore advisable to clarify the rules before play begins.
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==Common signals==
[[File:Charades, "two words".jpg|thumb|upright|A player using two fingers to signal to his teammates that the answer has two words]]
Note that some of these signs may be banned from some forms of the game.▼
The following gestures are commonly used in the game:
* A number of fingers at the beginning of play gives the number of words in the answer. Holding the number on the opposite inside elbow denotes the number of [[syllable]]s in
* To indicate a book, hold hands, palm up, side-to-side, and pretend to read a book.
* To indicate a song, throw one arm up while gesturing the other palm-up to your mouth, and pretend to sing.
* To indicate a movie, pretend to crank an old movie camera.
* To indicate a tv program, use the pointer finger of both hands to draw a rectangle in the air.
* To indicate a theater production/play, take a bow.
* Pointing at or tugging on an earlobe means "sounds like"
* Moving hands or fingers closer together without touching means "shorter"
* Holding the hands or fingers close together without touching indicates a short word such as "
*
* Moving hands or fingers farther apart means "more", which is to encourage answering a longer form of the same word.
* "Come on", "close", or "keep guessing" may be indicated by any "come here" gesture or by holding one's hands toward each other and spinning them in circles
* "More" or "add a suffix" may be indicated by similar movements or by miming the act of stretching out a [[rubber band]]
* "I" may be signed either by gesturing to one's chest or eye
* "Yes, correct", in addition to more general signs such as nodding, is often expressed in charades by pointing at or touching the nose with one hand while pointing at the correct guesser with the other, signifying "on the nose"
*In India, thumbs up means English language, thumbs down is [[Hindi]], thumb in horizontal position is a state language like
*"OK sign" can mean 3, 0, or the middle finger (in Portuguese).
==See also==
* [[Time's Up! (game)|Time's Up!]]
* [[Dumb crambo]]
* [[Cryptic crossword]], for a type of clue based on this game
* [[Pictionary]], a game inspired by charades where players draw words or phrases
* [[Concept (board game)|Concept]]
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[[Category:Party games]]
[[Category:Word games]]
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