silver screen
the Hollywood film industry
TRANSLATION
silver screen (fig.) = die Filmindustrie silver screen = die Leinwand --- GOOGLE INDEX silver screen: approximately 11,900,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Before WWII, ordinary British people only knew Americans as the gangsters and heroes from the SILVER SCREEN.
(BBC News)
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FANS of the silver screen may soon be able to marry in Britain's most famous cinema.
(SUN Newspaper)
(BBC News)
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FANS of the silver screen may soon be able to marry in Britain's most famous cinema.
(SUN Newspaper)
Did you
know?
silver screen
noun phrase
- (fig.) films collectively or the film industry
- the screen onto which films are projected
(Collins English Dictionary)
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The expression silver screen dates back to the 1920s when movie theatres began coating their screens with silver (or embedding them with silver) to improve the quality. The silver coating caused light to reflect back, which led to a more realistic, higher quality picture. This was especially important with black and white films. The expression eventually expanded to mean the film industry in general.
Silver screen is an example of a metonym, a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. Following are several examples of frequently-heard metonyms:
- Downing Street or Number 10 = The residence and office of the UK Prime Minister, which is located at Number 10 Downing Street, London. (Downing Street says military assistance is being provided to stop Islamist rebels in the north of Mali from advancing)
- Whitehall = The British government. Refers to a London neighbourhood where the offices of the British government's senior bureaucrats are located. (Whitehall backs plan for increased airport security)
- Fleet Street = The British newspaper industry. Fleet Street was the original location of many British newspapers. (The company's precarious financial position, with annual losses of £44m, is the talk of Fleet Street)
- Savile Row = Fashionable men's clothing. Refers to a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. (Daniel Craig confesses he was reluctant to wear James Bond's Savile Row suits when he was offered the first of his three 007 movies)
- P45 = Termination of employment. Refers to a tax form that is issued when someone leaves their job. (The recession is forcing many companies to hand out P45s).
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SYNONYMS
Hollywood, motion picture industry, cinema, filmdom/moviedom
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I've been fascinated with the silver screen for as long as I can remember."
noun phrase
- (fig.) films collectively or the film industry
- the screen onto which films are projected
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
The expression silver screen dates back to the 1920s when movie theatres began coating their screens with silver (or embedding them with silver) to improve the quality. The silver coating caused light to reflect back, which led to a more realistic, higher quality picture. This was especially important with black and white films. The expression eventually expanded to mean the film industry in general.
Silver screen is an example of a metonym, a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. Following are several examples of frequently-heard metonyms:
- Downing Street or Number 10 = The residence and office of the UK Prime Minister, which is located at Number 10 Downing Street, London. (Downing Street says military assistance is being provided to stop Islamist rebels in the north of Mali from advancing)
- Whitehall = The British government. Refers to a London neighbourhood where the offices of the British government's senior bureaucrats are located. (Whitehall backs plan for increased airport security)
- Fleet Street = The British newspaper industry. Fleet Street was the original location of many British newspapers. (The company's precarious financial position, with annual losses of £44m, is the talk of Fleet Street)
- Savile Row = Fashionable men's clothing. Refers to a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. (Daniel Craig confesses he was reluctant to wear James Bond's Savile Row suits when he was offered the first of his three 007 movies)
- P45 = Termination of employment. Refers to a tax form that is issued when someone leaves their job. (The recession is forcing many companies to hand out P45s).
---
SYNONYMS
Hollywood, motion picture industry, cinema, filmdom/moviedom
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I've been fascinated with the silver screen for as long as I can remember."
