hoity-toity

[ hoi-tee-toi-tee ]
See synonyms for hoity-toity on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. assuming airs; pretentious; highfalutin; haughty: He thinks he's better than we are because he went to one of those hoity-toity private schools.

noun
  1. giddy behavior.

Origin of hoity-toity

1
First recorded in 1660–70; reduplicated and altered rhyming compound based on hoit “to romp, riot, play the fool” (now obsolete)

Words Nearby hoity-toity

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How to use hoity-toity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hoity-toity

hoity-toity

/ (ˌhɔɪtɪˈtɔɪtɪ) /


adjective
  1. informal arrogant or haughty: we have had enough of her hoity-toity manner

Origin of hoity-toity

1
C17: rhyming compound based on C16 hoit to romp, of obscure origin

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