tread the boards

Language: en

Meaning: ; (idiomatic)Toworkas atheatreactor.Synonyms:tread the stage,walk the boardsHe seems to think that he's the greatest actor who's evertrod the boards.1799,Francis Lathom, “The Second Part of the Same Story”, inMen and Manners,[…], volume III, London:[…]J. Wright,[…]; and H. D. Symonds,[…],→OCLC,page215:[…]I vvent, on the follovving morning, to the theatre to rehearſe; and my ignorance of ſome ſtage cuſtoms, vvhen I arrived there, vvas eaſily conſtrued into my confuſion, at rehearſing in a ſtrange company, vvhich any one vvho has evertrodden the boards, knovvs to be a much more formidable ordeal, than the actual performance at night;[…]1857, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym;Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter VIII, inWhat will He Do with It?(Collection of British Authors; CCCCVII), Tauchnitz edition, volume I, Leipzig:Bernhard Tauchnitz,→OCLC, book I,page60:How do I know she would have succeeded? She had never thentrod the boards. Besides, what strikes you as so good in a village show, may be poor enough in a metropolitan theatre.1867,Thomas Lake Harris, chapter II, inArcana of Christianity: An Unfolding of the Celestial Sense of the Divine Word,[…]Part III.—The Apocalypse, volume I, New York, N.Y.; London: Brotherhood of the New Life,→OCLC, section 234,page125:The sleek bigot of the conventicle is a more superb actor than the applauded mime whotreads the boards.1881(date written), George Bernard Shaw, chapter VIII, inLove among the Artists, Chicago, Ill.: Herbert S. Stone and Company[…], published1900,→OCLC, book I,page156:This actress was an amiable woman; and Madge enacted Celia in "As You Like It" at her benefit without any revival of the dread of Shakspeare [i.e.,William Shakespeare] which the tragedian had implanted in her. She was now beginning totread the boardswith familiar ease. At first, the necessity of falling punctually into prearranged positions on the stage, and of making her exits and entrances at prescribed sides, had so preoccupied her that all freedom of attention or identification of herself with the character she represented had been impossible.1957,Lillian de la Torre, “The Tragic Muse”, inThe Actress; being the Story ofSarah Siddons[…], Edinburgh; New York, N.Y.:Thomas Nelson & Sons,→OCLC,page201:Jack and Stephen,treading the boardstogether in Dublin, could not be summoned so fast.1999May,David Savran, “Introduction: The Haunted Stage”, inThe Playwright’s Voice: American Dramatists on Memory, Writing and the Politics of Culture, New York, N.Y.:Theatre Communications Group,→ISBN,page xvii:AsMac Wellman'sCrowbarso powerfully suggests, every performance, like every theatre building, is haunted by what has come before, by the ghosts of characters and actors who havetrod the boards.2018,Gordon Corera,Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service: The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe, New York, N.Y.:William Morrow and Company,→ISBN:He spent eight years before the wartreading the boardsas a professional actor in repertory theaters in Manchester.2019,William W[allace] Johnstone, with J. A. Johnstone, chapter 36, inThe Jackals, New York, N.Y.: Pinnacle Books,Kensington Publishing Corp.,→ISBN,page357:Low comedy. Not fit for a thespian like me. If you want burletta, go to a saloon. I, sir, am Sir Theodore Cannon, and havetreaded the boardswith Booth, and with Bartlett.; (figuratively)Towriteplaysfor the theatre.(Can we add anexamplefor this sense?)

Examples:

EN: Never will my unworthy son tread the boards with me.
ES: Mientras yo viva, mi indigno hijo no aparecerá nunca con su padre.
EN: and they tread the boards of Europe. Until, ditched by Fragoletta, he found comfort with Zanetta, daughter of a cobbler with a shop in front of a theater in Venice.
ES: Con ella recorrió los escenarios de Europa, ...hasta que le dejó Fragoletta y buscó consuelo en Zanetta, ...hija de un zapatero, que tenia su tienda, delante del teatro San Samuel de Venecia.
EN: We know each other well. We both tread the boards once.
ES: Pasaremos el tiempo recordando nuestro pasado.
EN: I'm off to tread the boards, Mom.
ES: Me voy a hacer tablas, mamá.
EN: Devout women are rare. You tread the boards, yet come to church to pray.
ES: Vos pisáis los escenarios y venís a la iglesia a rezar.
EN: I've seen many a man and his dummy tread the boards in my time.
ES: He visto a muchos hombres con sus muñecos pisar el escenario en mi tiempo.
EN: Non, but an uncle who disapproved of your fantasies and your desire to tread the boards.
ES: No, y era un tío que desaprobaba sus fantasías y su deseo de pisar los escenarios.
ID: Tidak, tapi paman yang tidak menyetujui fantasi anda dan keinginan Anda untuk menjadi aktor.
EN: - Monkey's been telling me we should start to tread the boards ourselves.
ES: - Mono me ha estado diciendo que deberíamos empezar a hacer teatro.
EN: Monkey's been telling me we should start to tread the boards ourselves.
ES: Mono me ha dicho que deberíamos empezar a pisar las tablas nosotros mismos.
EN: Did you have a boyhood dream, Jack, to tread the boards or bat for Australia?
ES: ¿Tenías algún sueño en tu niñez, Jack,? ¿Pisar un escenario o batear por Australia?
EN: Oh, I hadn't realised you'd tread the boards, Mr Keane.
ES: Oh, no sabía que usted había pisado las tablas Sr. Keane.
EN: I have a young man who would like to tread the boards.
ES: Tengo a un jovencito al que le gustaría actuar.
EN: But lucky you, Léo, tread the boards.
ES: ¡Qué suerte tienes, Léo, de pisar las tablas!
EN: You know, I, myself, have been known to tread the boards.
ES: Yo era conocido por pisar bien las tablas.
EN: It's about the feet that tread the boards.
ID: Ini tentang kaki, menari diatas panggung.

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