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Glite Dictionary
to act like an eshay

to act like an eshay

9.9
Behave loudly and show off street clothes and a tough attitude
  • phrasal verb
  • Australian
translation icon : actuar como un eshay
  • Everyone at the party noticed when Jake began to act like an eshay by flashing his designer sneakers.

Examples

  • Some teenagers act like an eshay to impress their friends at school.

  • He was acting like an eshay, speaking loudly and drawing attention to himself.

  • Don't act like an eshay in front of your parents!

  • He always acts like an eshay at school.

  • At the concert, he started to act like an eshay, dancing wildly to show off.

  • To impress her friends, she would often act like an eshay by wearing flashy clothes and bragging.

  • When he acts like an eshay, people take notice of his loud behavior and unique style.

Synonyms

swaggering
vsto act like an eshay
2 7.0

To act very confident and proud to get attention

focuses on subculture fashion and street status rather than general boldness
to act like a chav
vsto act like an eshay
  • Offensive
9.9

Behave loudly and show off, for example by shouting or flashing money in Britain

focuses on a different youth subculture with street status displays
to swash
vsto act like an eshay
  • Archaic
9.1

Act in a proud, showy way

is linked to a specific street youth identity and status posing
to pimpin'
vsto act like an eshay
  • Slang
9.9

Behaving in a showy, confident way to impress people

is more about street subculture status and brash attitude than glamour
to act like a wanksta
vsto act like an eshay
  • Offensive
9.9

To pretend to be tough or street-smart when you are not

is more focused on genuine subculture displays of status rather than pretence
to act like a rockstar
vsto act like an eshay
  • Informal
8.1

Behave in a loud, showy way to get attention

is tied to local street status and brash youth style not celebrity glamour

Antonyms

subtly
48 5.1

In a way that is not obvious or easy to notice

modestly
28 3.1

In a simple, not showy way

How Flashy

to act like an eshay
  • Australian
9.9
to show off
  • Informal
216 3.2

Surface Forms

act like an eshay infinitive
acted like an eshay past
acted like an eshay past participle
acting like an eshay present participle
acts like an eshay third person singular

Morphology

act + like + an + eshay

The phrase follows the fully compositional pattern 'act like an X' so its meaning ('behave in the manner of an eshay') is directly derived from the constituents. That said, 'eshay' is dialectal/slang (Australian youth subculture) and missing from standard dictionaries, so while the construction is transparent for a B1 learner who knows the word 'eshay', many learners will lack that lexical knowledge.

Etymology

Act like an eshay comes from a street youth style where young people called 'eshays' wore loud clothes, flashy sneakers and used bold, tough talk. Because those 'eshays' wanted attention, to act like an eshay came to mean 'to behave showy and brash'.