the show must go on
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Events or activities must continue despite problems or difficulties
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Sự kiện hoặc hoạt động phải tiếp tục mặc dù có vấn đề hoặc khó khăn
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a performance continuing
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The concert started an hour late, but the show must go on
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the show must go on” mean?
Events or activities must continue despite problems or difficulties Literally: a performance continuing
Is “the show must go on” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.