all over oneself
1
9.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
hacerse el tonto
- I suppose you think that you're such an attractive young man... that any girl would fall all over herself to let you kiss her.
Examples
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I believe you're gonna be a 95 and tripping all over yourself... before your papa lets you out of his sight.
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This is the economic bozo who fell all over himself to ensure that taxpayers' dollars be lavished on Solyndra and other failing green scams owned by Obamacronies.
Blog text (20) -
During the meeting, she kept fidgeting and smiling, practically falling all over herself to impress the boss.
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He was so anxious to meet the celebrity that he tripped all over himself while trying to get her autograph.
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When given the opportunity to speak, he stammered and blushed, almost falling all over himself in his eagerness to share his ideas.
Synonyms
1
7.5
To behave so others notice you in an embarrassing way
Act in a way that shows off to make yourself feel important
Antonyms
How Self-Conscious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase strings together 'all over' (suggesting 'completely' or 'everywhere') with the reflexive 'oneself', so a learner who knows the parts could infer a general sense of being overly self-focused. However, the particular pragmatic nuance of awkwardness or eager attention is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the constituents, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase all over oneself may come from the image of a person moving all over their own body and oneself, touching their face, fidgeting and blushing because they feel shy or very excited. So, it now means acting 'nervous', 'overly eager', or 'awkward' in front of others.