Meanings
plural oat operas · alternative oat-opera
- idiomaticA film or novel depicting adventures of characters in the American Old West; a western.
A queasy combination of classic Wayne oat opera and happy jalopy jokiness a la Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
1989, The Time Out Film Guide, retrieved 21 Nov 20122 more examples
The fourth of the shows directly under the NBC wing is the Hopalong Cassidy oat opera film series (see box on this page).
1949 February 12, “Shows Rank High, But Net Lacks Control”, in The Billboard, retrieved 21 Nov 2012WITH THE THUNDER of boots setting the stage, a group of hard-riding horsemen burses into view. This is not a new oat opera on TV, but a group which combines love of 4-H with love of horses--the Perry County Boots and Saddle 4-H Club.
1961, National 4-H Club News, retrieved 21 Nov 2012Synonyms: horse opera, oater, oateater
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA film or novel depicting adventures of characters in the American Old West; a western.
Cite this entry
oat opera. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oat%20opera
“oat opera.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oat%20opera. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oat opera,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oat%20opera.
Source: oat opera on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.