What does cakewalk mean?

Definitions for cakewalk
ˈkeɪkˌwɔkcake·walk

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word cakewalk.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. cakewalknoun

    a strutting dance based on a march; was performed in minstrel shows; originated as a competition among Black dancers to win a cake

  2. cakewalkverb

    an easy accomplishment

    "winning the tournament was a cakewalk for him"; "invading Iraq won't be a cakewalk"

  3. cakewalkverb

    perform the cakewalk dance

Wiktionary

  1. cakewalknoun

    A contest in which cake was offered for the best dancers.

  2. cakewalknoun

    The style of music associated with such a contest.

  3. cakewalknoun

    The dance, or style of dance associated with such a contest.

  4. cakewalknoun

    Something that is easy or simple, or that does not present a great challenge.

  5. Etymology: Originally a form of dance that white masters had their slaves perform for them and their audiences as entertainment. The slaveowners considered the spectacle extremely amusing since the dances derived from sophisticated white European aristocracy. As such, slaveowners dressed the slaves in costumes of exaggerated finery, like ridiculously tall tophats and flashy striped pants, and taught the slaves variations of the original dance steps designed as highly comical parodies. Audiences selected their favorites, and the slaves who performed most entertainingly for their masters were rewarded with a piece of cake.

Wikipedia

  1. Cakewalk

    The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around". It was originally a processional partner dance danced with comical formality, and may have developed as a subtle mockery of the mannered dances of white slaveholders. Following an exhibition of the cakewalk at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the cakewalk was adopted by performers in minstrel shows, where it was danced exclusively by men until the 1890s. At that point, Broadway shows featuring women began to include cakewalks, and grotesque dances became very popular across the country.The fluid and graceful steps of the dance may have given rise to the colloquialism that something accomplished with ease is a "cakewalk".

ChatGPT

  1. cakewalk

    A cakewalk is an activity, task or competition that is easy to accomplish or win. It derives from a 19th-century dance performed by African Americans in which the most stylish couple would win a cake. The term has evolved to mean anything that is easy or effortless. It can also refer to a form of music and the dance that goes along with it.

Wikidata

  1. Cakewalk

    The Cake-Walk or Cakewalk was a dance developed from the "Prize Walks" held in the late 19th century, generally at get-togethers on slave plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around". At the conclusion of a performance of the original form of the dance in an exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, an enormous cake was awarded to the winning couple. Thereafter it was performed in minstrel shows, exclusively by men until the 1890s. The inclusion of women in the cast "made possible all sorts of improvisations in the Walk, and the original was soon changed into a grotesque dance" which became very popular across the country.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of cakewalk in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of cakewalk in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of cakewalk in a Sentence

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers:

    I live a good life, theres no reason for me to be stressed or be dissatisfied. Ive got four amazing kids. I went through one of the toughest parts of my life with my (premature) daughter. This is easy. This is a cakewalk. Just stay in shape and stay ready to play basketball when Im called. If Im not called, I still get to be home with my family.

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cakewalk#10000#38191#100000

Translations for cakewalk

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"cakewalk." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/cakewalk>.

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