It is or was common for a crowd of extras in acting to shout the word ‘rhubarb’ repeatedly and in an unsynchronised manner, to cause the effect of general hubbub. As a result, the word ‘rhubarb’ sometimes is used to mean ‘length of superfluous text in speaking or writing,’ or a general term to refer to irrelevant chatter by chorus or extra actors. The American equivalent is walla. Stage actors in the United States also use word ‘rhubarb’ repeated asynchronously in a low or murmured tone to provide background voice ambience in crowd or party scenes. A variation of this is the repetition of the phrase ‘peas and carrots.’