Put-on
A pretence. An act. The kind of performance that the speaker can see through. 'Thon foofin an greetin wuz al a put-on' = the fussing and crying was all an act. The construction is hyphenated as a single noun: 'a put-on'.
Etymology
Built from the standard English phrasal verb 'to put on' (= to perform, to display) plus the noun-of-noun-phrase formation. The Hiberno-English and Ulster Scots use freezes the verb phrase into a single working noun: not 'he was putting it on' (verb) but 'it was a put-on' (noun). Fenton records the form in The Hamely Tongue.
In a sentence
"All the tears at the leaving party were a put-on - she'd been planning the new job for months."
Historical notes
Put-on is one of the small Ulster Scots vocabulary items where standard English does most of the work via a different construction. Standard English speakers say 'he was putting it on' (verb phrase, predicate); Ulster Scots speakers say 'it was a put-on' (subject, single noun). The compound carries more dismissive weight than the standard English alternative - calling something a put-on closes the discussion, while saying someone is putting it on leaves the matter open.
Sources
- Fenton, James. The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim. Ullans Press. · dictionary