highfalutin
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
In his book, The Adventure of English, Melvyn Bragg records that in a nascent America, when the well-to-do travelled by steamboat, said passengers were referred to as highfalutin due to the high fluted funnels on the boats. Compare riffraff.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
highfalutin (comparative more highfalutin, superlative most highfalutin)
- (US, informal) Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical; tending to show off or hold oneself in unduly high regard.
- It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
(informal) self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical
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