Peanut Gallery Definition
noun
The topmost balcony section in a theater, where the cheaper seats are located.
Webster's New World
A group of people whose opinions are considered unimportant.
American Heritage
(historical) The upper balcony in racially segregated venues such as a theatre to which black patrons were restricted.
Wiktionary
(idiomatic) Any source of heckling, unwelcome commentary or criticism, especially from a know-it-all or of an inexpert nature.
Enough already from the peanut gallery; if you think you can do a better job, go right ahead.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
- upper balcony
- family circle
- second balcony
Other Word Forms of Peanut Gallery
Noun
Singular:
peanut gallery
Plural:
peanut-galleriesOrigin of Peanut Gallery
-
The historically prior sense of “an upper balcony for black patrons" probably derives from an early association between peanuts and the African slaves who first introduced them to America; the extended sense of “a source of heckling" most probably derives from the disesteem in which those balconies and their occupants were generally held.
From Wiktionary
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