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Glite Dictionary
to chew the scenery

to chew the scenery

1 9.6
To act in a very exaggerated way to get attention in plays or films
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sobreactuar
  • When the villain appeared, he really chewed the scenery, overacting to make his character more menacing.

Examples

  • Eating Raoul is grand, yet slight enough for the excessive Bartel not to chew the scenery to mush.

    Blog text (9)

  • The actor chewed the scenery in the latest play, delivering his lines with exaggerated gestures and expressions.

  • During the audition, she chewed the scenery, dramatically emoting to capture the attention of the casting director.

Synonyms

to camp
vsto chew the scenery
  • NSFW
8 9.3

To act in an exaggerated, showy way to be funny or silly

is less about ironic style and more about loud dramatic acting
to overact
vsto chew the scenery
5 5.5

To act in a way that is too strong or unnatural for the scene

is more flamboyant and theatrical rather than only excessive performance
to overplay
vsto chew the scenery
5 5.2

Act in an exaggerated way that makes a performance feel unnatural

is more about showy theatrical flair than merely reducing realism
to ham it up
vsto chew the scenery
  • Informal
4 7.4

Act in a silly, exaggerated way to make people laugh

is less playful and more intensely dramatic on stage or film
to melodramatize
vsto chew the scenery
7.7

To make something seem more emotional and dramatic than it is

is focused on an individual's flamboyant acting rather than broad dramatic treatment
to act like a rockstar
vsto chew the scenery
  • Informal
8.1

Behave in a loud, showy way to get attention

is mainly a theatrical performance choice rather than general public behaviour

Antonyms

to underact
  • Jargon
7.4

To show too little feeling when playing a role

How Dramatic

to chew the scenery
  • Informal
1 9.6
to ham it up
  • Informal
4 7.4
to overact
5 5.5
to go overboard
  • Informal
45 4.4
to act
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

chew the scenery infinitive
chewed the scenery past
chewed the scenery past participle
chewing the scenery present participle
chews the scenery third person singular

Morphology

chew + the + scenery

The literal meanings of 'chew' (to bite or gnaw) and 'scenery' (stage sets) do not compose to yield 'to overact'—the phrase is a metaphorical, theatrical idiom whose sense cannot be predicted from the parts. This idiomatic meaning is a language-specific figurative extension, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would unlikely infer the intended sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Chew the scenery likely comes from the image of an actor so big and loud that it looks as if they are literally chewing the stage scenery, biting the set to get the audience's attention. That's why it now means 'to act in a very exaggerated or dramatic way'.