The weekly word/phrase: "The Peanut Gallery"

So, as those that may have come to know me a bit might know, I tend to spout out random ridiculous crap sometimes. And now that I am YM pres in my congregation, I get to spout out even more random ridiculous crap. And that has lead me to this weeks weekly word/phrase.

During Priesthood today, the boys, which provide men endless means of enjoyment, (mostly because I can mock them all day, and they seem to think that is affection, which is great, because they love my sarcasm :), were making large amounts of noise and obnoxious comments. That allowed me to utter the phrase...."Quiet in the Peanut Gallery" which was wonderfully poignant I thought. And then, as kids do all too often, they asked "What is the Peanut Gallery? What does that mean?"

Now me, I had never looked up the phrase peanut gallery. Who looks up that phrase? On top of that....who doesn't know what it means? I mean really, this is basic English or so I thought. So, I started to spout of at how at theaters, the cheap seats were called the peanut gallery because the poor people sat there and they served peanuts as food, and if they didn't like what was going on or were just drunk and disorderly they would throw peanuts and their shells! And alas, just to cover my **** (those four asterisks are for the word "self", but it makes it much more intriguing if you don't know what the word really is).

So alas we have our word/phrase for the week:

"The Peanut Gallery"

1. The hindmost or uppermost section of seating in a theater balcony, where the seats are cheapest.

2. A group of people whose opinions are considered unimportant: "Pressure is building ... to force ... Alan Greenspan to cut interest rates and pump up the money supply. [He] has politely ignored these catcalls from the peanut gallery" (H. Erich Heinemann).
3. A peanut gallery s an audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of Vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and ostensibly 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 show their disapproval. The phrases "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.

In the late 1940s the Howdy Doody show adopted the name to represent their audience of 40 kids.

So, there you have it folks...the Peanut Gallery! Enjoy!