Meanings
- literallyentertainmentRegardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons.
1 more example
Two other very personal issues that Holly discloses are her ongoing struggle to maintain a weight she feels comfortable with, and her virtual breakdown from exhaustion in 1984. Her "the show must go on" martyrdom attitude was painful to read, for her stress-related problems demonstrate the irony that idealistic activists often live exactly the overworked, underpaid life they are hoping to end for everyone.
1990 December 9, Maida Tilchen, “Closer To Near”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 14 - idiomaticOne must finish what one has started; things must continue no matter what.
Origin
Originated in the 19th-century circus industry.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto la spektaklo devas daŭri
- la spektaklo devas daŭriOne must finish what one has started.
French le spectacle doit continuer
- le spectacle doit continuerOne must finish what one has started.
Polish przedstawienie musi trwać
- przedstawienie musi trwaćOne must finish what one has started.
Portuguese o espetáculo deve continuar
- o espetáculo deve continuarOne must finish what one has started.
Russian шоу должно продолжаться
- шоу должно продолжаться (šou dolžno prodolžatʹsja)One must finish what one has started.
Spanish la función debe continuar
- la función debe continuarOne must finish what one has started.
Cite this entry
the show must go on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20show%20must%20go%20on
“the show must go on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20show%20must%20go%20on. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the show must go on,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20show%20must%20go%20on.
Source: the show must go on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.