To speak to the gallery
To speak without addressing anyone in particular
In the fifteenth century, the word “cantonade” denoted a corner of a house (the word is borrowed from Provençal “cantonada” for “corner”).
In the 17th century, he specialized in the world of theater, where he initially referred to the sides of the stage where, at the time, the privileged spectators were seated.
Then, these seats no longer being occupied by spectators, he eventually points to the wings.
The expression "à la cantonade" appeared in the mid-eighteenth century. It then referred to a stage device in which the actor pretended to address someone who remained invisible, as they were positioned in the wings.
The current meaning is a metaphor derived from this theatrical usage. The wings have disappeared, but the person speaking to the audience is not addressing a specific interlocutor either, and all the less so because, often, no response is expected.
(…) the café owner appeared at the door of the back room reserved for meetings and called out: “Thibault’s wanted on the phone.”
Roger Martin du Gard – The Thibaults – 1935
Marylena