family circle
- noun
- /ˈfæmɪli ˈsɜrkl/
- Archaic
:
gallinero
- We sat in the family circle for the play.
Examples
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The family circle seats are the cheapest in the theater.
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From the family circle, the stage looked distant, but the atmosphere was still exciting.
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She could only afford seats in the family circle, but was delighted just to be at the theater.
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Tickets in the family circle sold out quickly for the opening night of the musical.
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The audience members in the family circle had the best view of the stage.
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She bought tickets for the family circle of the theater to save money.
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From the family circle, they could see the actors clearly even though they were far away.
Synonyms
1
4.0
The highest seats in a theatre, far from the stage
An upper seating area at the back of a theatre with the least expensive seats
Cheap seats high in the back of a theater
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'circle' can denote a theatre tier and 'family' suggests a group, the specific sense 'the highest or rearmost area where the least expensive seats are located' is lexicalized and not directly inferable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows 'family' and 'circle' would not reliably predict this specialized, historical seating meaning, so the expression is effectively idiomatic in this usage.
Etymology
Family circle may come from old theaters that had a round balcony. Whole families often sat together in that circle at the top because those seats were cheaper, so the phrase came to mean 'the high, cheap seats'.