What Does “Stealing Someone’s Thunder” Mean? How To Use It

There are many idiomatic expressions in the English Language that everyone is familiar with. However, there are also some idioms that you need to know so you can use them correctly. The idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” is one of the expressions you must learn about before using it.

The idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” means preventing someone from being successful or being the reason why someone was not given attention or praised by another. We use “steal someone’s thunder” when a person receives the praise or attention meant for someone else.

Having a basic knowledge of the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” does not guarantee that you will be able to use the expression correctly. Extensive knowledge is required for proper usage of the expression. Nevertheless, we will be discussing some important things you need to know to use the expression correctly.

What Does “Stealing Someone’s Thunder” Mean?

Many people use idiomatic expressions; however, only people with a comprehensive understanding can use them efficiently when communicating, either through speech or text.

All idiomatic expressions convey a hidden message to the recipient. You can only get the hidden message when you know the idiomatic expression used. Hence, the need to learn everything about an idiom.

We will be discussing everything you need to know about the idiomatic expression. We will be looking at the meaning, origin, and how to use the expression in a sentence.

Now, we will talk about the meaning of the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder.”

The idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” means getting the attention meant for someone else by doing or saying what that person intended to say or do. It also refers to taking the credit for someone else’s efforts.

The expression also refers to a situation where you use another person’s idea to your advantage and get praised for it. It also means destroying the effects of what someone is going to do by doing it first.

Another meaning of the expression is to upstage someone by doing something that diverts the attention from them to you. For example, you know your sister is planning to announce her pregnancy on Thanksgiving, and you announce your marriage two days before Thanksgiving so you can get all the attention.

The idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” also means doing something better or more exciting than another person to stop them from getting praise or attention so that you can receive the attention or praise instead.

When you use the idiom “stealing someone’s thunder,” it could also mean getting attention or praises by forestalling or pre-empting another person’s attempt at something.

What Is The Origin Of The Idiomatic Expression “Stealing Someone’s Thunder”?

The idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” originates from an English play writer and literary critic named John Dennis in the 18th century when he invented a new method of creating thunder sounds for his unsuccessful play called Appius and Virginia in 1709.’

Shortly after this event, John Dennis’ thunder method was used during a play called ‘Macbeth,’ a book written by Williams Shakespeare. John Dennis was annoyed with this, and he made an accusation saying they stole his thunder.

John Dennis’s response after his play was close and his creative invention used for William Shakespeare’s play was recorded by Joseph Spence, a literary scholar who lived from 1699-1768.

The expression was later used in 1688 by an English poet named Alexander Pope in his mock-heroic poem, The Dunciad. It was also used in the fourth volume of ‘The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland by Mr. Cibber and other Hands,’ a book written in 1753 by Robert Shiels and Theophilus Cibber.

Williams Shepard Walsh made a reference to the first use of the expression made by John Dennis in his book titled A Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities in 1893.

The expression was also mentioned in The American Gentleman’s Guide to Politeness and Fashion, a book written by the American author Margaret Cockburn Conkling who writes under the pen name of Henry Lunettes.

Other writings where the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” was mentioned includes What Made The Crocodile Cry?, A History of English Dramatic Literature to the Death of Queen Anne, As right as rain: the meaning and origins of popular expressions, and Applied Crisis Communication and Crisis Management.

How Do People Use The Expression “Stealing Someone’s Thunder”?

Now that we have established the meaning and origin of the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder,” we will proceed by talking about how people use the expression.

When a person does or says something that will make him be praised or awarded instead of someone else, you use the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” to describe the person’s action.

Another way to use this idiom is when a person takes credit for someone else’s work. Someone makes out time and thinks deeply to develop a creative idea, but another person receives the credit for it; you say the latter stole the former’s thunder.

You can also use the idiom “stealing someone’s thunder” when someone does everything possible to take away or divert attention from what another person has done. A person has done a good job and is about to be commended or praised, and another person does something that makes everyone focus on him.

The idiom could also be used when attention is stolen from a person, usually by using the person’s work or idea to get approval, praise, commendation, or attention.

When a person has his idea or works stolen by another person without the original owner awarded or credited but the person who stole the idea or work is credited, you say they “stole his thunder.”

Another way the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” can be used is when a person’s plan, idea, or intellectual property is stolen and used for benefit or profit without the consent or approval of the owner.

You can also write the idiomatic expression as “steal someone’s thunder” or “stole someone’s thunder.” The former is in the present tense and the latter in the past tense.

Illustrative Examples Of How To Use The Idiomatic Expression

We proceed by examining some illustrative examples that explain the idiomatic expression “stealing someone’s thunder” and show how to use it correctly.

1. Everybody in Joan’s class was assigned to a group for their project, and they were expected to work together. When Joan’s group was presenting, one of her colleagues stole the thunder.
2. Most scientists and inventors we know today stole other people’s thunder and claimed it was their work.
3. Julie was aware she would steal Dave’s thunder by announcing her pregnancy at his wedding anniversary, so she decided to wait till the celebration was over before breaking the news.
4. In the corporate world today, it is a common practice to steal someone’s thunder; however, some people will do anything possible to receive credit for their intellectual property.
5. Jude’s brother is very popular and constantly commended in school. He is frustrated because no matter what he does and how good he does it, his brother always steals his thunder.
6. Thomas Edison claimed he invented the light bulb when he bought the patent for it from Heinrich Goebel’s widow in actuality. Edison stole his thunder after he died.
7. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German developed calculus, but Isaac Newton claimed Gottfried stole his thunder. It was discovered years later that both of them developed it independently but published it during the same period.
8. Having friends that make you enjoy your moment and celebrate with you without trying to steal your thunder are blessings. Nothing should make you break such a friendship.
9. I had asserted my time, energy, resources, and effort into producing a perfect analysis of the course. However, during my presentation, I found out a colleague of mine had stolen my thunder. He had presented my analysis.
10. Alexander Graham Bell, whom we know as the inventor of the telephone, stole the idea of Elisha Gray. He stole his thunder and bribed his way to become a famous inventor.
11. The whole class agreed to allow John to defend the presentation; he worked harder than everyone in making it. We would be stealing his thunder by refusing him.
12. We all believe Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity. Henri Poincare, a French mathematician, and Hendrik Lorentz, a Dutch physicist, did. Albert stole their thunder without giving them credit.
13. The idea of developing a social network was originally from four friends, and Mark Zuckerberg stole their thunder by developing Facebook behind their backs.
14. The world believes William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, but it was based on a poem written by Arthur Brooke.  William stole his thunder and made a little change to the story.

Final Thoughts

Understanding is key in proper usage; who would have thought “stealing someone’s thunder” is used to describe someone taking credit for another person’s work. This is why it is imperative to learn first before proceeding to use.

There is always a situation where you can use the idiom perfectly, pay attention, and you might find it useful. Read up, get the knowledge, and have fun using idioms in your writing.