make an exhibition of oneself

Idioms

Show off or otherwise embarrass oneself in public, as in When Mike has too much to drink he's apt to make an exhibition of himself. The first recorded use of this term was in Charles Dickens's A Child's History of England (1853).

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.

Only one keeps it in, one does not make an exhibition of oneself.

From L'Assommoir by Émile Zola

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023