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The eleventh book from the Red Rock Mysteries series, Windy City Danger, has the following excerpt

The production was set up in the corner of the warehouse behind the main showroom. It took forever for Dustin to position the lights. He moved them to one side, then the other, then moved them back, then forward.

Carolyn and I put on our own makeup, per Grander's direction - this was a pretty low-budget affair. The script called for two typical teenagers standing in front of a living room suit. I would sit in a huge recliner and say my line, and then we'd show off a bedroom.

I knew it might take a long time because I'd been to the filming of a movie in Chicago once. The scene was just a guy walking to his car with a cell phone to his ear and driving away. It took almost six hours to shoot, and the crew said it went well.

what does "show off a bedroom" mean here? I understand that the text is about some warehouse with the showroom. A showroom is a part of the shop in which a buyer can see the goods.

Carolyn and I (meaning Ashley) put on their makeup under Grander as their supervisor. The text then talks about there being a living-room suite (I don't know why because living-room is seen in hotels). Maybe the living-room suite was of a movie studio? Then I studied dictionaries and they talk about "show off" as to mean "to boast or to say proudly". If so, why are both of them (Carolyn and Ashley) showing off about one bedroom (are they sisters by script)? Does it mean they walked in that bedroom and a camera moved behind them to show it all?

Since they use the article "a", it tells me that the room is not near the warehouse, so is it their property that the people in the studio can't see?

Can someone explain to me in simple words what it means to "show off a bedroom"?

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  • Living-rooms exist outside hotels. I have one in my house.
    – Michael Harvey
    Sep 6, 2022 at 15:13
  • I've never come across the phrase in the context you describe. To show off means to show how good you are at something to impress people. It's hard to interpret it that way here. It might be code for strip off. But it might be code for anything.
    – Ronald Sole
    Sep 6, 2022 at 15:14
  • I can show off something I am proud of (e.g. my rose garden).
    – Michael Harvey
    Sep 6, 2022 at 15:14
  • My roses are struggling. They would be grateful for your advice, and a little rain.
    – Ronald Sole
    Sep 6, 2022 at 15:18
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    This sounds like a commercial for furniture. A living-room suite is something like a sofa and two armchairs. Having said some words about that to the camera, they move to another room and 'show off' the bedroom furniture.
    – Kate Bunting
    Sep 6, 2022 at 16:24

2 Answers 2

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From the Cambridge dictionary, the meaning of the phrase show off would be as follows.

Show off: to behave in a way that is intended to attract attention or admiration

eg: She only bought that sports car to show off and prove she could afford one.

Yet, this isn't correct here since it talks about the act of trying to make yourself look better in the eyes of others.

Rather, on reading the actual line where it is used, there is a difference.

The script called for two typical teenagers standing in front of a living room suit. I would sit in a huge recliner and say my line, and then we'd show off a bedroom.

Here, it talks about showing off a bedroom. The same link from the dictionary provided above shares the other definition that works better here.

Show something/someone off: to make it possible for others to see and admire something or someone

This is what is actually being done here. Carolyn and Ashley were tasked with acting in a production where they were asked to show off the bedroom. This allowed others to be able to admire the room.

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  • Only they showed off a bedroom.
    – Michael Harvey
    Sep 6, 2022 at 18:24
  • So, they walked into a bedroom, both laid on the bed and camera lets see that with great admiration?
    – ZWA
    Sep 7, 2022 at 12:17
  • Well not necessarily. A bed room is a room where people sleep, you could show off the whole room and make people see the actual room itself. It's not just the bed.
    – Safdar Faisal
    Sep 7, 2022 at 14:39
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I would simply read it to mean that some basic shot of the bedroom would be taken. It could have just as easily been "After that, establishing shots of the bedroom would be taken", and have pretty much the same meaning.

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