fourth wall

[ fawrth-wawl ]

noun

the imaginary, invisible wall, as across the front of a stage, that separates the world constructed by a play, movie, television show, video game, or literary work from the actual world inhabited by the audience.

Idioms about fourth wall

break the fourth wall, to violate the conventional separation between the world of a play, movie, television show, video game, or literary work and the world inhabited by the viewer:The actor’s periodic asides to the audience break the fourth wall and elicit much-needed laughs.

Origin of fourth wall

¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Words Nearby fourth wall

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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