bring down the house

Idioms and Phrases

Also, bring the house down . Evoke tumultuous applause and cheers, as in Her solo brought the house down . This hyperbolic term suggests noise loud enough to pose a threat to the building—an unlikely occurrence. In the late 1800s, British music-hall comedians punned on it: when the audience greeted a joke with silence, they said, “Don't clap so hard; you'll bring down the house (it's a very old house).” [Mid-1700s]

Related Words

• display
• execute
• give
• go on
• offer
• play
• present
• produce
• represent
• show
• stage