screaming
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
First-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the Adelphi play-bills; "a SCREAMING farce," one calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “screaming” mean?
First-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first used in the Adelphi play-bills; "a SCREAMING farce," one calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now a general expression.
Is “screaming” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.