How to describe when someone repeatedly does something so that people ask about it

Question

An example of what I mean is if someone had a new pair of shoes for instance and they wanted someone to ask about them so they could talk about them (not exactly ostentatious as it’s not to brag but they just want more people to know about the shoes) and so to this end they do things like putting their feet up on objects to make the person notice their shoes but without directly saying they have new shoes.
I know the term attention seeking would apply to this but I was hoping for a more honed term to this type of situation

Yosef Baskin · Answer

A good term is Drop a Hint.

Merriam-Webster says it suggests something that one does not want to say in a direct way.

Ladies who left their hankies behind as a deliberate excuse to return were dropping a hint.
I heard you are having a party is clearly dropping a hint. Although heavy-handed, it's better than asking "Can I come to your party?" I can play dumb by ignoring the meaning of a hint, but how can I politely say No, I am not inviting you?

Tom · Answer

Different idioms probably apply depending on the type of reaction that the person is trying to elicit. In this specific circumstance I would say that the person is Fishing for Compliments.

to try to get people to say nice things about one

How to describe when someone repeatedly does something so that people ask about it

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