College students sometimes amuse themselves by throwing JELL-O against the wall to see if it sticks.

FORBES: ETFs Come and Go by the Dozen

The film may be humorless, unflustered by the need to quicken or amuse, but it feels unfashionably true to itself.

NEWYORKER: The Yards

Into the chaos, the fumbling in the dark, an order is imposed as people form circles around performers, a troupe of acrobats, jugglers and escape artists, a comedian, a group of musicians, a story-teller... this is trial by public jury: if the performance falls flat, the tricks fail to amuse or the stories to amaze, the crowds move on.

BBC: Djemaa el Fna, the beating heart of Marrakesh

His talent to amuse had been noticed in Lichfield, and when he arrived in London his determination to act was driven only partly by the failure of the wine merchant's business he ran.

ECONOMIST: Theatre history