What does tableau mean?
Word: Tableau
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Tableau means a scene in which people stand still and silent to show a moment from a story or from history.
How do you spell tableau?
Syllables: tab - leau
Tricky part: The sound at the close is a plain oh, but the letters are eau, a spelling English took from French.
Watch out for: tablo, tablow, tableu
Memory tip: A beautiful tableau keeps the eau of beautiful.
Tableau in a sentence
Example 1: The Class 8 pupils ended their play with a tableau of the first Moon landing.
Example 2: For the last scene, the whole cast froze in a tableau while the lights faded.
Example 3: The carnival tableau from our town showed farmers at harvest time.
Fun Fact
The usual plural of tableau is tableaux. That x is the French plural ending, and English has kept it.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The drama club staged a colourful elataub of village life at the school concert.
a) tablet
b) tableau
c) tabloid
d) bureau
Show answer
b) tableau. Three vowels a, e and u with a t, b and l: tabloid has an o and tablet no u, while bureau has an r.
Spell-o-Spell
One of these words is spelt right. Pick the meaning of that word.
1. choreografy 2. silhouete 3. pagent 4. tableau
a) actors frozen in position to present a moment
b) a dark outline seen against a light
c) a colourful public show with costumes
d) the planning of steps for a dance
Show answer
a) actors frozen in position to present a moment. Tableau is printed right; pageant has an ea, silhouette a double t and choreography a ph.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
t_b_eau
a) e, l
b) a, r
c) o, l
d) a, l
Show answer
d) a, l. The first gap takes the short vowel of cat, and the second the l before the eau.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
tabbleau
a) b
b) l
c) t
d) u
Show answer
a) b. A single b does the job here.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a tableau need less learning of lines than a play?
a) a narrator sings each line for them
b) the actors learn only the songs
c) nobody in it has anything to say
d) everybody in it reads from a script
Show answer
c) nobody in it has anything to say
2. In which performance would a teacher say the class made a tableau?
a) pupils reciting a long poem one after another
b) pupils posed as a freedom march, not moving at all
c) pupils acting out a fast comedy sketch
d) pupils singing the national anthem together
Show answer
b) pupils posed as a freedom march, not moving at all
