WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
freak′ show′,
- a display of people or animals with unusual or grotesque physical features, as at a circus or carnival sideshow.
- any ludicrous, bizarre, or dehumanizing occasion, function, performance, etc.;
grotesque, circuslike event:endless interviews and auditions that became a ridiculous freak show. - 1885–90