upstage — 1918 (adj.), 1921 (v.); the notion is of drawing attention to oneself (and away from a fellow actor) by moving upstage to the rear of the stage so that the other actor must face away from the audience. The noun upstage back of the stage is… … Etymology dictionary
upstage — [up′stāj΄; ] for v. [, up stāj′] adv. toward or at the rear of a stage adj. 1. of or having to do with the rear of a stage 2. haughtily or disdainfully aloof vt. upstaged, upstaging 1. to draw the attention of the audience away from (a fellow… … English World dictionary
upstage — ► ADVERB & ADJECTIVE ▪ at or towards the back of a stage. ► VERB 1) divert attention from (someone) towards oneself. 2) (of an actor) move towards the back of a stage to make (another actor) face away from the audience … English terms dictionary
upstage — [[t]ʌ̱pste͟ɪʤ[/t]] upstages, upstaging, upstaged 1) ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, prep ADV When an actor is upstage or moves upstage, he or she is or moves towards the back part of the stage. [TECHNICAL] Upstage and right of centre, Robert Morris… … English dictionary
upstage — 1. noun The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera. 2. adverb a) toward or at the rear of a theatrical … Wiktionary
upstage — I UK [ʌpˈsteɪdʒ] / US verb [transitive] Word forms upstage : present tense I/you/we/they upstage he/she/it upstages present participle upstaging past tense upstaged past participle upstaged to do something so that you get more attention and… … English dictionary
upstage — I. adverb Date: 1870 1. toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage 2. away from a motion picture or television camera II. adjective Date: 1918 1. [upstage (III)] haughty 2. of or relating to the rear of a stage … New Collegiate Dictionary
upstage — up|stage1 [ʌpˈsteıdʒ] v [T] to do something that takes people s attention away from someone else who is more important ▪ All the big name stars were upstaged by 12 year old Katy Rochford. upstage 2 upstage2 adv towards the back of the stage in a… … Dictionary of contemporary English
upstage — up|stage1 [ ʌp steıdʒ ] verb transitive to do something so that you get more attention and admiration than someone else, especially someone who will be annoyed by this upstage up|stage 2 [ ʌp steıdʒ ] adverb at or toward the back of the stage in… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
upstage — v. move upstage causing another actor to turn his back to the audience (Theatre); draw attention away from another, steal the show; treat someone haughtily adj. snobbish, arrogant, haughty (Informal); pertaining to the rear of the stage (Theater) … English contemporary dictionary
