dare spettacolo

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to give spectacle”. Compare French se donner en spectacle and Portuguese dar espetáculo.

Verb

dàre spettacolo (first-person singular present (with syntactic gemination after the verb) dò spettacolo, first-person singular past historic dièdi spettacolo or diédi spettacolo or détti spettacolo or (traditional) dètti spettacolo, past participle dàto spettacolo, first-person singular future darò spettacolo, first-person singular subjunctive dìa spettacolo, first-person singular imperfect subjunctive déssi spettacolo, second-person singular imperative dài spettacolo or dà' spettacolo, auxiliary avére)

1. (intransitive) to try to demonstrate one's skills or bravura; to show off

   Synonyms: farsi notare, sfoggiare, fare sfoggio, pavoneggiarsi, grandeggiare

2. (intransitive) to show off; to parade [with di]

   Synonyms: sfoggiare, esibire; see also Thesaurus:mettere in mostra

   dare spettacolo della sua muscolatura

   to show off his muscles

3. (intransitive) to attract the attention of others by behaving embarrassingly or foolishly; to make a fool of oneself

Usage notes

• In the sense of "to make a fool of oneself," sometimes followed by di sé for emphasis.