hams up
Goes wildly overboard
To ham up is to exaggerate or overact, especially for dramatic or comic effect: She really hammed up her performance for the kids.
The phrase comes from ham meaning an actor who overplays a role.
Hams up is the third-person singular form: He always hams up his stories.
- overactingExcessive theatrical performance
- chewing the sceneryExaggerated theatrical performance
- showboatingOstentatious self-display
- clowningPlayful comic behavior
- grandstandingPerforming to impress onlookers
stealing the scene · jesting · melodrama · buffoonery · over the top · theatricality · caricature · burlesque · exaggeration · flamboyance · hyperbole · attention-seeking · drama queen · pantomime · mugging · playing to the gallery · scenery-chewing · posturing
hams upunderplays
Deliberately de-emphasizes something
plays down · understates · tones down · downplays · restrains
hams upsuppresses
Actively prevents expression
bottles up · contains · represses · internalizes · masks