Look up peanut gallery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A "peanut gallery" is an audience which heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and therefore rowdiest) seats in the theater; the cheapest snack served at the theater would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to signify their disapproval. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that French Wiktionary be merged into this article or section. ... The heckler is a person who shouts an uninvited comment, usually disparaging, at a performance or event, or interrupting set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting. ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... Binomial name Arachis hypogaea L. The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the legume family Fabaceae native to South America. ...
In the 1950s, the Howdy Doody show adopted the name to represent their audience of 40 kids. Howdy Doody was a childrens television program (with a decidedly frontier/western theme, although other themes also colored the show) that aired on NBC from 1947 through 1960. ...
Related terms
During the Jim Crow era and in segregated parts of the United States, "Nigger Heaven" was often used to refer to the balcony of a movie theater where blacks sat.
Similar seats in British theatres are often called "The Gods" because of the seats' higher elevation (eg 'We've got seats in the gods for the play tonight').
In Canada, especially at sporting events, the more elevated seats are often refered to as "The Nosebleeds", alluding to the altitude.
The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted in the Southern and Border States of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965 and affected African Americans and many other races. ... Nigger Heaven (1926) is a book by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) set during the Harlem Renaissance in the United States in the 1920s. ... A typical multiplex (AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California). ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The phrase nosebleed section is applied tongue-in-cheek to those seats of a public arena, usually an athletic stadium or gymnasium, that are highest and, usually, farthest from the desired activity. ...
External links
The Peanut Gallery A website dedicated to reuniting those who appeared in the Howdy Doody peanut gallery.
The Straight Dope: What's the origin of the expression "peanut gallery"?
The phrase peanutgallery dates back to the early 20th century in America, referring to the least expensive section in the rear of a theatre.
The patrons in the peanutgallery, often of the lower classes, were known for a strong sense of community, a penchant for heckling, and the use of peanuts as missiles to express their distaste of the entertainment.
During the Jim Crow era, and in racist parts of the United States, "Nigger Heaven", was often used to describe the balcony of a movie theater, where Blacks were relegated to sit.
PEANUTGALLERY - ".The peanutgallery, usually the cheapest seats in the house, was the gallery, or 'second balcony,' high up in Gay Nineties theaters, so high up that the crowd seated there were sometimes called the gallery gods.
Peanuts were the movie snack of the day and the occupants of these cheap seats often rained peanut shells on performers who displeased them." From "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).
The 'gallery gods' - so called because their seats were nearest the ceiling, which often was decorated with allegorical paintings of the heavens - were a raffish, undisciplined crew given to direct action when they wanted to express displeasure at the entertainment.
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