"above the table" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "When playing a tabletop role-playing game the fictional reality is represented by things on the table, whereas the real people playing the game are considered to be above the table.",
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Role-playing games",
          "orig": "en:Role-playing games",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              278,
              293
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2022 February 16, Kat Bloodgood, “Hyper RPG Set To Launch New KOLLOK Series On FearHQ [Interview]”, in That Hashtag Show, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2025:",
          "text": "And our original 1991 cast, we were playing off the meta quite a bit, in that the show itself is very, it’s self-aware, but we never allow our players to be self-aware. The way that we roleplay, we’re always asking our players to be completely in character, and never meta game above the table. We try to hold the in-world as much as possible through audio, visual, and acting.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              322,
              337
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 October 4, Tara McCauley, “Adventure Zone's Funniest Moments, Ranked”, in Comic Book Resources, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2024:",
          "text": "The McElroys make tabletop gaming a family affair in The Adventure Zone, peppering their signature brand of humor into the long-running TTRPG actual-play podcast. From theme park heists like the current Steeplechase campaign to one-shot romps like Just Us and Dadlands, The Adventure Zone has kept fans laughing with both above the table family banter and in-universe antics from the podcast's ever-growing collection of distinct universes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              82,
              97
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 July 17, Panda, “Dimension 20: Blithe, Baffled, And Bewildered By Brennan And A Bus”, in The Fandomentals, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2025:",
          "text": "Jasmin Bhullar as Little Army Man, the powerhouse of the group, using rage on and above the table.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Outside the fictional reality of the game; in real life."
      ],
      "id": "en-above_the_table-en-prep_phrase-OTQQ2E4q",
      "links": [
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "real life",
          "real life"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "roleplaying games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(roleplaying games) Outside the fictional reality of the game; in real life."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "above the table"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "When playing a tabletop role-playing game the fictional reality is represented by things on the table, whereas the real people playing the game are considered to be above the table.",
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "en:Role-playing games"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              278,
              293
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2022 February 16, Kat Bloodgood, “Hyper RPG Set To Launch New KOLLOK Series On FearHQ [Interview]”, in That Hashtag Show, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2025:",
          "text": "And our original 1991 cast, we were playing off the meta quite a bit, in that the show itself is very, it’s self-aware, but we never allow our players to be self-aware. The way that we roleplay, we’re always asking our players to be completely in character, and never meta game above the table. We try to hold the in-world as much as possible through audio, visual, and acting.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              322,
              337
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 October 4, Tara McCauley, “Adventure Zone's Funniest Moments, Ranked”, in Comic Book Resources, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2024:",
          "text": "The McElroys make tabletop gaming a family affair in The Adventure Zone, peppering their signature brand of humor into the long-running TTRPG actual-play podcast. From theme park heists like the current Steeplechase campaign to one-shot romps like Just Us and Dadlands, The Adventure Zone has kept fans laughing with both above the table family banter and in-universe antics from the podcast's ever-growing collection of distinct universes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              82,
              97
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 July 17, Panda, “Dimension 20: Blithe, Baffled, And Bewildered By Brennan And A Bus”, in The Fandomentals, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2025:",
          "text": "Jasmin Bhullar as Little Army Man, the powerhouse of the group, using rage on and above the table.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Outside the fictional reality of the game; in real life."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "real life",
          "real life"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "roleplaying games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(roleplaying games) Outside the fictional reality of the game; in real life."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "above the table"
}