kayfabe
/ˈkeɪˌfeɪb/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.12 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.
Uncountable
adj
Of or related to kayfabe, especially forbidden to mention or show in order to maintain kayfabe.
verb
To maintain kayfabe, to deceive by staying in character.
Example Sentences
- ""Jack, Gordon and I were talking about how we heard Ric Flair do an interview where he said there was no such thing as kay-fabe any more," said Blair, referring to the fact most wrestler secrets were exposed in the 1990s."
- "Suddenly, I heard a shout behind me: "Kayfabe! Kayfabe!" It was Gagne, freaking out and twitching and gesturing. He was afraid that some of the marks would see us in such close proximity and wonder why I wasn't choking out Wahoo with the velvet rope leading to the reservation counter, or carving him up with the ticket agent's pen. The thing was that, with the exception of the AWA guys, the terminal was empty."
- "I've been breaking kayfabe a lot lately and it's bad, completely unprofessional."
- "Business historian Fiona A. E. McQuarrie has noted that the concept of kayfabe is not uncommon outside the realm of professional wrestling, as many corporations "formally require their members to maintain public silence on company issues or not to express any explicit criticism of the company, through such means as employment contracts or through contracts governing severance or termination of employment.""
- "The Republican brand will be tarnished even more as mainstream media outlets and late-night comedians gleefully broadcast Moore’s asininity to the broader public. But, yeah, sure: It’ll be entertaining for people who now follow politics like it’s one long pro-wrestling kayfabe."
- "My wife... currently serves as a Florida State Senator... My kayfabe wife has enormous fake breasts, bleach blonde hair, and a nose that is too small for her face."
Etymology
Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang (carny), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition “be fake” formed through backslang or mangled pig Latin. Also sometimes attributed to an alteration of cave (Latin for “beware”), keep cavey (“stay alert”), or an eponymous figure named Kay Fabe or Kay Fabian.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkeɪˌfeɪb/
- British English: /ˈkeɪfeɪb/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Kay Fabe (alternative)
kay-fabe (alternative)
kafabe (alternative)
kayfabes (present, singular)
kayfabing (participle, present)
kayfabed (participle, past)
kayfabed (past)
Derived Forms
kayfabian