glory boy

plural glory boys

1. informalA man who seeks fame.

   “He's not a glory boy. He ain't looking to get his name in the papers, like some mall psycho,” said Bob.

   2011, Stephen Hunter, Dead Zero, page 168

   2 more examples

   He was a glory boy. Why else would he have spent three years studying the ritualized showing off that was theatre and then given it up when he realized he could be only a journeyman, never a master?

   2012, Patricia Sitkin, Remembering Delphi County, page 91

   Always a glory boy, Jones worked hard at keeping his name and accomplishments under the noses of the higher ups.

   2015, Gini Rifkin, Solace