to break the fourth wall
3
7.7
- phrasal verb
- Jargon
:
romper la cuarta pared
- During the play, the actor paused to break the fourth wall, making a witty comment to the audience.
Examples
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Characters may also address the reader directly, a strategy often used in drama, film, and television and usually referred to as "breaking the fourth wall."
Academic text (2014) -
Someone thought they were incredibly clever by breaking the fourth wall.
Blog text (20) -
When done well, breaking the fourth wall can be phenomenal.
Blog text (23) -
Video games aren't above breaking the fourth wall.
Blog text (6) -
The Cosby Show ended iconically with the leads breaking the fourth wall.
Blog text (20) -
As an actor, Birbiglia infuses Matt with an easygoing, endearing air as he narrates and breaks the fourth wall, telling the story directly to the camera.
Blog text (8) -
In case you didn't know, Deadpool is a badass comic book character who always has snarky retorts for his fellow superheroes and often breaks the fourth wall.
Blog text (9) -
In the final scene, the character looked directly at the audience, breaking the fourth wall and sharing a secret.
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The show became famous for its unique style, often breaking the fourth wall to engage viewers directly.
Synonyms
Revealing that a performance, often in wrestling, is planned and not real
Antonyms
How Self-Aware
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts (break + wall) suggest destroying a barrier, and a learner could plausibly infer it means removing some boundary; however, 'the fourth wall' is a specialized theatrical convention (the imaginary barrier between performers and audience) that B1 learners are unlikely to know from the words alone. Because there is a clear metaphorical link to 'breaking a barrier' but the specific theatrical meaning requires cultural/genre knowledge, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Break the fourth wall comes from the stage, where actors imagine a room with three real walls and an invisible fourth wall between them and the audience. To break that wall is to remove the barrier and speak straight to the viewers, so the phrase means 'to address the audience directly'.