Meaning
A spectacle or a laughing-stock — a ridiculous display that makes a fool of someone. To 'mek a poppyshow' out of yourself is to embarrass yourself publicly, carrying on in a way that draws mocking laughter, and to make a poppyshow of someone else is to hold them up to ridicule before all. From 'puppet show', the word casts the fool as a figure on display for others' amusement, and it names the whole painful business of public embarrassment and the loss of face that Jamaicans feel so keenly.
Examples
-
Yuh mek a poppyshow outta yuhself inna di dance.
You made a spectacle of yourself at the party.
-
Dem tun di whole ting inna a poppyshow.
They turned the whole thing into a farce.
-
Nuh mek dem poppyshow yuh.
Don't let them make a fool of you.
Origin
From 'puppet show', for a foolish, comic spectacle — a display fit for laughter like a show of puppets.
How it’s used
About public embarrassment and ridicule, whether self-inflicted or done to someone else.