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camp it up

 [kamp]   Origin

camp

2   [kamp]
noun
1.
something that provides sophisticated, knowing amusement, as by virtue of its being artlessly mannered or stylized, self-consciously artificial and extravagant, or teasingly ingenuous and sentimental.
2.
a person who adopts a teasing, theatrical manner, especially for the amusement of others.
Emagination Computer Camp www.computercamps.com/ 3D Animation, Game Design, RC Cars Web Design, Robots, MA, PA, GA, IL
Ad
verb (used without object)
3.
Also, camp it up. to speak or behave in a coquettishly playful or extravagantly theatrical manner.

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Camp it up is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
adjective
4.
campy: camp Hollywood musicals of the 1940s.
Origin:
1905–10; perhaps dial. camp impetuous, uncouth person (see kemp1); hence, slightly objectionable, effeminate, homosexual; in some senses probably special use of camp1 brothel, meeting place of male homosexuals
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

camp
"tasteless," 1909, homosexual slang, perhaps from mid-17c. Fr. camper "to portray, pose" (as in se camper "put oneself in a bold, provocative pose"); popularized 1964 by Susan Sontag's essay "Notes on Camp." Campy is attested from 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

cAMP abbr.
cyclic AMP

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

camp definition


  1. n.
    something cute and out of fashion; something of such an anachronistic style as to be intriguing. : Nobody really knows what style camp really is, and very few even care.
  2. mod.
    and campy. overdone; out of fashion and intriguing. : Most camp entertainment is pretentious and overdrawn.
  3. mod.
    having to do with homosexual persons and matters. : She is so camp, I could scream!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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camp it up definition


  1. tv.
    to overact. : Can you make it a little more lively without camping it up?
  2. tv.
    to overdo effeminacy; [for a homosexual male] to act too effeminate in public. : John just loves to burst into the most sedate hotel in town and camp it up in the lobby.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

camp it up

Make an extravagant, affected, or vulgar display, as in Amateur actors often camp it up, trying to be more dramatic. Originating in the 1950s as slang for flamboyant behavior stereotypically associated with gay men, this term began to be used more loosely by about 1970. Also see ham it up.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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