Peanut Gallery on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A peanut gallery was, in the days of
A peanut gallery was, in the days of vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, a nickname for the cheapest and ostensibly rowdiest seats in the theater, the occupants of which were often known to heckle the performers. The least expensive snack served at the theatre would often be peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...
s, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to convey their disapproval. Phrases such as "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.
Background
According toStuart Berg Flexner Stuart Berg Flexner (1928–1990) was a lexicographer, editor and author, noted for his books on the origins of American words and expressions, including ''I Hear America Talking'' and ''Listening to America''; as co-editor of the ''Dictionary of A ...
, the term owes its origin to the United States' segregated South
In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as Housing in the United States, housing, Healthcare in the United States, healthcare, Education in the United States, education, Employment in ...
as a synonym with the back seats or upper balcony mostly reserved for Black people.
In popular culture
In 1943 the ''Howdy Doody
''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell
'' children's radio show adopted the name for its live audience of children. Howdy Doody is most remembered for its later transition to television, which continued the Peanut Gallery audience, then on camera.
"Peanut gallery" may have been the source of the name for Charles Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...
's comic strip, ''Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...
'': a name Schulz bitterly resented and never understood. Schulz had wanted to keep the name of his previous strip, '' Li'l Folks''. However, United Features Syndicate
United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...
pointed out that that name was too similar to other strips such as Li'l Abner
''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn b ...
. Thus, ''Peanuts'' was chosen.
A similar term was introduced to Brazilian football by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense.
Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and not ...
. He called Palmeiras
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...
' complaining audience that sat in the closest seats "peanut gang" ( pt, Turma do Amendoim).
C. J. Dennis's poem, " ''The Play''" from '' Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'', recapitulating the suicide scene from ''Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...
'', ends bathetically with ''"Peanuts or lollies!" sez a boy upstairs."''
See also
*Bleacher
Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a ro ...
* Heckler
A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout encouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of di ...
* Nosebleed section
In the United States, Canada and Australia, the nosebleed section are the seats of a public area, usually an athletic stadium or gymnasium, that are highest and, usually, farthest from the desired activity. Also known as the O’Connell section. ...
* Statler and Waldorf
Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters best known for their cantankerous opinions and shared penchant for heckling. The two elderly men first appeared in '' The Muppet Show'' in 1975, where they consistently jeered the entirety of ...
* The gods (theatrical)
* Tricoteuse
References
External links
*{{Authority control Theatre American English idioms