grandstand play
Americannoun
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an ostentatious play, as in a sport, overemphasized deliberately to elicit applause from spectators.
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any action or attempt designed to win approval or to make a strong impression.
His going to work on Christmas was another of his grandstand plays.
Etymology
Origin of grandstand play
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This isn’t a grandstand play on my part; I’ve discovered—and you can see it in other entertainers—when they don’t reach out to the audience, nothing happens.
From Slate • Nov. 26, 2012
Powered by the celestial arrangements of Nelson Riddle, the album is not a sentimental journey, a dizzy camp-out or a show-biz grandstand play.
From Time Magazine Archive
Faced with a long-drawn fight for control which will ruin all the little stockholders, grandstanding Dan Armstrong makes the best grandstand play of all.
From Time Magazine Archive
Was France preparing a grandstand play to show the power of the French franc by causing a great withdrawal of gold from New York?
From Time Magazine Archive
So I had to make the grandstand play.
From Bruce by Terhune, Albert Payson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
