Chew up the scenery
verb phrase
to overact, act melodramatically; also written [chew up scenery]
Word Origin
refers to actor’s enthusiasm causing him or her to chew on the scenery
Usage Note
slang
verb phrase
To overact; ham: Beery and Lionel Barrymore chew up all the scenery that isn’t nailed down/ Neeson doesn’t chew up the scenery when he works
[1930s+ Show business; originally fr a 1930 theater review by Dorothy Parker : ”More glutton than artist, he commences to chew up the scenery”; in an 1881 glossary a loud actor is said to ”eat scenes,” which may or may not be related]
Read Also:
- Chewy
[choo-ee] /ˈtʃu i/ adjective, chewier, chewiest. 1. (of food) not easily , as because of toughness or stickiness; requiring much . /ˈtʃuːɪ/ adjective chewier, chewiest 1. of a consistency requiring chewing; somewhat firm and sticky adjective
- Chex
[cheks] /tʃɛks/ noun 1. a plural of 1 . [chek] /tʃɛk/ verb (used with object) 1. to stop or arrest the motion of suddenly or forcibly: He checked the horse at the edge of the cliff. 2. to restrain; hold in restraint or control: They built a high wall to check the tides. 3. to […]
- Cheyenne
[shahy-en, -an] /ʃaɪˈɛn, -ˈæn/ noun, plural Cheyennes (especially collectively) Cheyenne for 1. 1. a member of a North American Indian people of the western plains, formerly in central Minnesota and North and South Dakota, and now divided between Montana and Oklahoma. 2. an Algonquian language, the language of the Cheyenne Indians. 3. a city in […]
- Cheyenne-river
noun 1. a river flowing NE from E Wyoming to the Missouri River in South Dakota. About 500 miles (800 km) long.
- Cheyne
[chey-nee, cheyn] /ˈtʃeɪ ni, tʃeɪn/ noun 1. Thomas Kelly [kel-ee] /ˈkɛl i/ (Show IPA), 1841–1915, English clergyman and Biblical scholar. Cheyne (chān, chā’nē), John. 1777-1836. Scottish physician who described (1818) the breathing irregularity now known as Cheyne-Stokes respiration.