Definition of "pastiche" [pastiche]

• A dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of other artists, often with satirical intent. (noun)
• A pasticcio of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge: "In . . . a city of splendid Victorian architecture . . . there is a rather pointless pastiche of Dickensian London down on the waterfront” ( Economist). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "All these characters, whom I love reading about, esp. in pastiche, must be part of this Secret History."
• "Even as artistic theory values repetition and familiarity in pastiche and other ways, law is not keeping up."
• "A pastel color pastiche is offset by the presence of seemingly endless light-grade wooden construction/renovation."