grandstanding

grandstand +‎ -ing

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grandstanding (usually uncountable, plural grandstandings)

1. Dramatic or showy behaviour intended to impress an audience or observers.
   • 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)‎:

     Yes, there were instances of grandstanding and obsessive behaviour, but many were concealed at the time to help protect an aggressively peddled narrative of [Oscar] Pistorius the paragon, the emblem, the trailblazer.

   • 2019 February 10, Elena Schneider, "Klobuchar jumps into presidential race"‎:

     "We are tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, the gridlock and the grandstanding," Klobuchar said in a speech to supporters. "Our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity. Not by wallowing over what’s wrong, but by marching inexorably toward what’s right."

   • 2024 January 10, Christian Wolmar, “A time for change? ... just as it was back in issue 262”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 60:

     For all his faults and grandstanding, however, Prescott genuinely cared - and his ambitious plans for tram schemes and railway extensions were stymied by lack of support from Downing Street.

grandstanding

1. present participle and gerund of grandstand