1. (n.) A short event between the longer acts of a play\, or between the play and the afterpiece, to relieve the tedium of waiting.

2. (n.) A form of English drama or play, usually short, merry, and farcical, which succeeded the Moralities or Moral Plays in the transition to the romantic or Elizabethan drama.

3. (n.) A short piece of instrumental music played between the parts of a song or cantata, or the acts of a drama; especially, in church music, a short passage played by the organist between the stanzas of a hymn, or in German chorals after each line.

abeyance act afterpiece anacrusis bass passage bit bourdon break breath breather breathing place breathing space breathing spell breathing time bridge burden cadence caesura cease-fire chaser chorus cigarette break cocktail hour coda coffee break curtain curtain call curtain raiser day off development divertimento divertissement division downtime drop enforced respite epilogue episode exode exodus exposition expository scene figure finale folderol gap half time half-time intermission halt happy hour harmonic close hesitation hiatus hoke act holiday idyll interim intermezzo intermission intermittence interregnum interruption interval introduction introductory phrase lacuna lapse layoff letup lull meantime meanwhile measure movement musical phrase musical sentence number off-time ornament parenthesis part passage pause period phrase plateau point of repose prologue quiet spell recess refrain relief remission resolution respite response rest resting point ritornello routine scene section shtick sketch skit song and dance spell stand-down stand-up comedy act stanza statement stay stop stoppage strain striptease surcease suspension tailpiece tea break time off time out truce turn tutti tutti passage vacation variation verse wait