a short entertainment exhibited on the stage between the acts of a play, or between the play and the afterpiece, to relieve the tedium of waiting.-a form of english drama or play, usually short, merry, and farcical, which succeeded the moralities or moral plays in the transition to the romantic or elizabethan drama.-a short piece of instrumental music played between the parts of a song or cantata, or the acts of a drama; especially, in church music, a short passage played by the organist between the stanzas of a hymn, or in german chorals after each line.