Word of the Day

: December 20, 2009

groundling

noun GROUND-ling

What It Means

1 a : a spectator who stood in the pit of an Elizabethan theater

b : a person of unsophisticated taste

2 : one that lives or works on or near the ground

groundling in Context

The movie was panned as mindless fodder for the groundlings.

Did You Know?

In Elizabethan times, play-going audiences were a diverse bunch. In the upper gallery, the wealthier patrons fanned themselves and looked with disdain at those who could only afford the penny admission to the pit below. Pit spectators had to sit or stand in close proximity on the bare floor, exposed to the sweltering sun or the dampening rain. At times, they behaved less than decorously, and they reportedly emitted a less than pleasant odor. The pit was also called the "ground"; those in it were "groundlings." Today, we use "groundlings" to refer not only to the less than couth among us, but also (often with some facetiousness) to ordinary Janes or Joes.