Clown is slang for a fool. To clown or be a clown means acting foolish or embarrassing yourself.
Deep Dive
As a noun, a clown means someone behaving foolishly.
As a verb, to clown means to act silly, mess around, or make yourself look ridiculous.
Putting on clown makeup is a meme phrase for knowingly making a bad choice, despite better judgment.
In the wild
“When you entertain a clown, you become part of the circus.”
“I took a DNA test, turns out I am 100 percent a clown.”
“You are a clown if you flex on the people who helped you.”
Related
bozo, corny, cringe, goofy, joker energy
Usage tip
If you call yourself a clown, it reads as self-aware humor. If you call someone else a clown, it is an insult, so use with care.