noun

• A type of clown, now generally characterized as wearing grotesque facial make-up (typically featuring red or pink, and usually a red artificial nose), a fright wig or similarly wild hair, and badly-fitting or oversized clothes and shoes.

  In the early 20th century the Auguste type of clown had a less grotesque appearance, and was characterized more in terms of behaviour, this being clumsy or chaotic, often in contrast to a more subdued white-faced fellow clown. The later grotesque appearance was originally associated with Albert Fratellini (1886–1961).