“Play to the gallery”in other languages
Behave in a way meant to win cheap applause.
English
French
Swedish
EnglishFrenchSwedishSame idea, different pictures
All three play to the cheap seats. In old theaters the gallery was the top balcony, with the least demanding audience; English and Swedish, spel för galleriet, aim for their applause.
French épater la galerie, to dazzle the gallery, comes from the spectators of real tennis, jeu de paume, who watched from a covered gallery.
More sayings in other languages
- Play with fire
- Prick up one's ears
- Drag one's feet
- Pull out all the stops
- Pull someone's leg
- Pull the wool over someone's eyes
- Pull up stakes
- Put something on the back burner
- Put the cart before the horse