cabaret

le cabaret (FR N-M) Cabaret derives from a word meaning »little room.« In the Middle Ages, a cabaret was a shop that sold wines and spirits. Gradually coffee and entertainments were added, usually consisting of irreverent, satirical political commentary. Thus, cabarets were sources of suspicion for whichever rulers were in power. In France, the late 19th century in particular was a cradle of development for the cabarets. The ironically named »Hydropathes« (»Water-drinkers,« they were anything…