Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
In the nineteenth century, the cheap seats at the back of a theatre or in the upper balcony.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The upper balcony to which black patrons were restricted in racially segregated venues such as theatres.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Synonyms: nigger gallery, nigger heaven
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Any source of heckling, unwelcome commentary or criticism, especially from a know-it-all or of an inexpert nature. May also now refer to general audience response: "Let's hear it from the peanut gallery."
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
rearmost or uppermost area in the balcony containing the least expensive seats
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: second balcony, family circle, upper balcony
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: area
noun
(figurative) people whose criticisms are regarded as irrelevant or insignificant (resembling uneducated people who throw peanuts on the stage to express displeasure with a performance)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: people
History
The phrase comes from nineteenth-century vaudeville theatres and refers to the cheap seats at the back of the theatre or in the upper balcony. It came to be applied to other venues as well, referring to the section where less-educated or less-seriously-interested patrons sat. The "peanut" comes from the popularity of that cheap snack in those sections, and the possibility that patrons might throw peanuts at the stage if displeased. In the mid-twentieth century, the Howdy Doody Show associated "peanut gallery" specifically with children.
Across languages
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
