chew the scenery
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chew the scenery
Where it comes from
Its earliest reference is listed in the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang as being used by Mary Hallock Foote in Coeur D'Alene in 1894.http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20001024
verb chews the scenery · chewing the scenery · chewed the scenery · chew on the scenery · chew up the scenery
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To display excessive emotion or to act in an exaggerated manner while performing; to be melodramatic; to be flamboyant.
Near-synonym: camp it up
Similar: ham it up, melodramatize, overact, tear a cat, camp it up
Translations
Every language
verb To perform in an excessively emotional or exaggerated manner
| Español | robar escena |
|---|---|
| Français | cabotiner, surjouer |
| Italiano | essere sopra le righe |
Talk about this word "chew the scenery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chew%20the%20scenery. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. chew the scenery. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chew%20the%20scenery "chew the scenery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chew%20the%20scenery.Cite this
@misc{chew_the_scenery_2026,
title = {chew the scenery},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chew%20the%20scenery},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
