camp it up
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.
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.
See also: camp, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
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.
See also: camp, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
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.
See also: camp, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
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.
See also: camp, up
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- hulk out
- hulking
- hulk
- hulk off
- à la
- la
- all manner of
- all manner of somebody/something
- in a manner of speaking
- manner