fifth wall

Noun

fifth wall (plural fifth walls)

1. The division between the fictional world depicted, and the actual actors, props, etc.
   • Bottom does not speak as a fictional figure pretending to be its actor, but, having crossed the fifth wall, as a “real” human being, as himself as Bottom.2010, J. Limon, The Chemistry of the Theatre: Performativity of Time, →ISBN, page 184
   • Presenting Silverstone as the protagonist of the former "Cyrin" clip in the context of the narration of the "Amazing" video also hints at a “sideways metalepsis” (a metalepsis between storyworlds) or the “breaking of the fifth wall” which is supposed to separate the different storyworlds in which...2011, Karin Kukkonen, Sonja Klimek, Metalepsis in Popular Culture, →ISBN, page 119
2. The divide between critics or audience members and author or theater practitioner.
   • If the 'fourth wall', the barrier between the actor and the audience introduced by theatre conventions, is an invisible artefact between the stage and the audience, the fifth wall may be thought of as the invisible wall between critics or readers and theatre practitioners.2005, Lynette Hunter, Peter Lichtenfels, Shakespeare, Language and the Stage, →ISBN
   • The volume is based on a workshop held at the Globe, designed as an opportunity to break down a so-called fifth wall – an invisible barrier between theatre practitioners and critics.2006, Peter Holland, Shakespeare Survey: Volume 59, Editing Shakespeare, →ISBN, page 372
3. Any of various other divisions between groups of people in the theatre.
   • There's a fifth wall here tonight. And that's the wall between men and women. Which may be the toughest of all to crack.1996, Albert Ramsdell Gurney, The Fourth Wall, →ISBN, page 48
   • Performers still made their entrances from the wings of a stage, the stage of the film studio, only now the fifth wall division between onstage and backstage was replaced by the division between the field of action in front of the camera, recorded as the image within the frame of its lens, and the...2009, Paul Matthew St. Pierre, Music Hall Mimesis in British Film, 1895-1960, →ISBN
4. (interior design) The ceiling.
   • The fifth wall is the ceiling. Ceilings can be painted a color, painted with special effects, or wallpapered.2000, Mary Young, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Decorating Your Home, →ISBN
   • The ceiling is the fifth wall of a room, so don't overlook it. Ceilings used to be elaborately decorated, ornamented with moldings, often highlighted with contrasting paint colors, or painted with pictorial panels of landscapes, mythological figures, or cloud-filled skies.2001, Christy Ferer, Risa Palazzo, Breaking the Rules: Home Style for the Way We Live Today, →ISBN, page 169
5. (interior design) The floor.
   • There's a "fifth wall" in every room. ..and it needs more care than the other four, put together. That "fifth wall" is the floor.1955, New York State College of Home Economics Extension Service, Homemakers' Radio News, page 29
   • What's in store for your room's fifth wall? On a recent trip to Dalton, Ga., Dean Wright, district retail manager for McSwain Carpets & Floors, learned the latest on luxe looks soon to be underfoot.2006, Cincinnati Magazine - Mar 2006, Vol. 39, No. 6, page 174
6. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fifth, wall.
   • Most rooms that I know of have four walls. If you are looking for a way out and you wind up on the fifth wall of what seems like a square room, chances are you missed an opening.2008, Anthony Avillo, Fireground Strategies, →ISBN, page 627