camp it up
1. To act in a campy (exaggerated, racy, or tacky) manner, often in a theatrical setting. I know your character is supposed to add comic relief, but you don't have to camp it up that much. Come on, drag queens are supposed to camp it up! The more, the better! If you keep camping it up like that in auditions, you'll never get hired in Hollywood.
2. To act in an overly effeminate manner, as of a gay man. I highly doubt that every man who camps it up is gay. Jeff may camp it up after a few drinks, but don't get too excited—he does have a wife, you know.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
camp it up
[for performers] to overact or behave in an affected manner. The cast began to camp it up in the second act, and the critics walked out. (Fixed order.) There is no need to camp it up. Play it the way it was written.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
camp it up
Make an extravagant, affected, or vulgar display, as in
Amateur actors often camp it up, trying to be more dramatic. Originating in the 1950s as slang for flamboyant behavior stereotypically associated with gay men, this term began to be used more loosely by about 1970. Also see
ham it up.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
camp it up
1. tv. to overact. Can you make it a little more lively without camping it up?
2. tv. to overdo effeminacy; [for a homosexual male] to act too effeminate in public. John just loves to burst into the most sedate hotel in town and camp it up in the lobby.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.