strut1

[struht] /strʌt/
verb (used without object), strutted, strutting.
1.
to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.
noun
2.
the act of strutting.
3.
a strutting walk or gait.
Idioms
4.
strut one's stuff, to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English strouten to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster, Old English strūtian to struggle, derivative of *strūt (whence Middle English strut strife)
Related forms
strutter, noun
Synonyms
1. parade, flourish. Strut and swagger refer especially to carriage in walking. Strut implies swelling pride or pompousness; to strut is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard. Swagger implies a domineering, sometimes jaunty, superiority or challenge, and a self-important manner: to swagger down the street.
British Dictionary definitions for strut one's stuff

strut

/strʌt/
verb struts, strutting, strutted
1.
(intransitive) to walk in a pompous manner; swagger
2.
(transitive) to support or provide with struts
3.
(informal) strut one's stuff, to behave or perform in a proud and confident manner; show off
noun
4.
a structural member used mainly in compression, esp as part of a framework
5.
an affected, proud, or stiff walk
Derived Forms
strutter, noun
strutting, adjective
struttingly, adverb
Word Origin
C14 strouten (in the sense: swell, stand out; C16: to walk stiffly), from Old English strūtian to stand stiffly; related to Low German strutt stiff
Word Origin and History for strut one's stuff

strut

v.

"walk in a vain, important manner," Old English strutian "to stand out stiffly," from Proto-Germanic *strut- (cf. Danish strutte, German strotzen "to be puffed up, be swelled," German Strauß "fight"), from PIE root *ster- "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (see sterile). Originally of the air or the attitude; modern sense, focused on the walk, first recorded 1510s. Cognate with Old English ðrutung "anger, arrogance" (see throat). To strut (one's) stuff is black slang, first recorded 1926, from strut as the name of a dance popular from c.1900.

n.

"supporting brace," 1580s, perhaps from strut (v.), or a cognate word in Old Norse or Low German (cf. Low German strutt "rigid"); ultimately from Proto-Germanic *strutoz-, from root *strut- (see strut (v.)).

Slang definitions & phrases for strut one's stuff

strut one's stuff

verb phrase

To display one's virtuosity, esp in a saucy, provocative way

[1926+ Black; fr dances featuring a strut like the turkey cock's, popular from around 1900]


Idioms and Phrases with strut one's stuff

strut one's stuff

Behave or perform in an ostentatious manner, show off, as in The skaters were out, strutting their stuff. This expression uses strut in the sense of “display in order to impress others.” [ ; first half of 1900s ]