camp it up

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Idioms and Phrases

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 .

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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