IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchParler à la cantonade
Meaning: To speak to a group at large without addressing anyone in particular.
Literally: To speak to the cantonade
Example: “En entrant, il a lancé un bonjour à la cantonade.” — Walking in, he called out a hello to no one in particular.
Origin: In the 16th century cantonade meant the corner or angle of a building; in the theater it came to mean the wings at the side of the stage. An actor speaking à la cantonade directed his lines offstage, to a character the audience could not see — so to nobody present.
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