8 letters · 15 points in Scrabble
noun a subordinate incident of little importance relative to the main event
noun a minor show that is part of a larger one (as at the circus)
originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *sīdaz Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ Old English sīde Middle English side English side English show English sideshow From side + show.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0