raree show

[ rair-ee ]

/ ˈrɛər i /

peep show.

a carnival or street show; spectacle.

Origin of raree show

First recorded in 1695–1705; allegedly imitative of a foreign pronunciation of rare show

And at last she felt real grief at thus becoming "the raree-show," as she ended by calling herself with a sad, suffering smile.

The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete |Emile Zola
They could not believe that people would make a raree-show of the English envoy except for sufficient reason.

History of the United Netherlands, 1590-1599, Vol. III. Complete |John Lothrop Motley
I stand, as it were, before the raree-show: I see the little puppets move, and I ask whether it is not an optical illusion.

The Sorrows of Young Werther |J.W. von Goethe
My name is Jack Capstone of Deptford, and are not you the man that has the raree-show of oyster-shells and pebble-stones?

Three Hours after Marriage |John Gay

Be gar no raree-show for you, monsieur Alscrip, if I can help.

The Heiress; |John Burgoyne

raree show

/ (ˈrɛəriː) /

a street show or carnival

another name for peepshow

C17: raree from rare 1