showbiz, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

showbiz n.

also show bizz

(orig. US)

1. show business, the entertainment industry; thus showbizzy adj.

1935		Brooklyn Dly Eagle (NY) 13 Jan. C4/1: They issue from the reliable pages of Variety, Bible of showbiz.
1949		F. Brown Dead Ringer 152: Something had soured him on show biz. He hated it.
1957		G. Kersh Fowlers End (2001) 139: It’s not Mr. Laveridge’s fault; he’s new to show biz.
1960		A. Buzo Front Room Boys Scene vii: That all-time great of show bizz, Mr Frank Sinatra.
1962		F. Norman Guntz 36: To most people show biz might appear to be a bit of a romantic profession.
1972		P. Fordham Inside the Und. 29: I’ve never had any luck with show-biz.
1978		D. Marechera House of Hunger (2013) [book] He knew all the city slang, all the slick scenes, and [...] could name every name worth knowing in ‘showbiz’.
1998		Source Nov. 41: My mother was an actress [...] so she knew how difficult showbiz could be.
1999		Guardian Rev. 15 Oct. 15: The Gramophone Awards is the benchmark of achievement. We want something that’s a little more showbizzy.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 818: [A]ll the Jews in showbiz at each other’s throats.

2. in fig. use, ostentation, melodrama, showing-off.

1974

‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell Plays Solomon (1976) 144: I supposed she’d thought the plain mother image would be better than the loud show biz.

showbizzy (adj.)

pertaining to the perceived qualities of show business, thus ostentatious, flashy; extreme; sentimental.

1948		Grenville News (SC) 2 Jan. 19/2: Rose Perfect, the star, who is still show-bizzy.
1962		Jackson Sun (TN) 11 Dec. 6/7: Real show-bizzy.
1972		Honolulu Advertiser (HI) 18 Jan. 8/8: Among the show-bizzy types guesting [etc].
1981		Guardian 28 July 9/2: It works quite well as a piece of rather show-bizzy orgy and melodrama.
1990		Detroit Free Press (MI) 24 Jan. 29/5: It’s all corny and show-bizzy, hokey and hokum.
2004		Chicago Trib. 15 Oct. 7/1: ‘’ve never been kind of showbizzy, like I want to be a star’.

that’s showbiz

(orig. US) that’s how things are (and there’s nothing you can do about it).

1958		Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) 31 Aug. 30/2: [headline] That’s Showbiz? [...] Now NBS isn’t renewing Polly’s pact.
1960		Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) 4 July 45/3: ‘That’s Showbiz Baby’ — says Danny Thomas to his TV wife.
1963		A. Burgess Honey for the Bears 21: ‘That’s showbiz,’ said Paul flippantly. ‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles.’.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 179: that’s show biz that’s the breaks of the game.
1997		P. Wilson That Singing Voice 64: A few public toilets I’d think twice about entering [...] with a big rubber crustacean costume over my arm, but that’s showbiz.
1999		R.G. Barrett Wind & Monkey (2013) [ebook] Les shrugged again. ‘That’s showbiz’.
2001		R. Rudner Tickled Pink 321: Broke my heart to cut it, but, hey, that’s showbiz.
2008		M. Walker Get Real! 45: The old saying about showbiz was, ‘That’s showbiz!’ Today, of course, they say, ‘It’s hard out here for a pimp!’.
2016		Eve. Standard (London) 29 Feb. 🌐 The biggest winner by far was Mad Max. That’s showbiz.