highfalutin
/ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɪn/ adjective, noun
Forms hifalutin hifalutin' hifaluting highfalutin' highfaluting high-falutin high-falutin' high-faluting high falutin high falutin' high faluting
- adjective (US, informal) Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical. “It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery.”
- noun (archaic) Pompous speech or writing.
Synonyms
bombast hoity-toity pretentious grandiose hifalutin highfaluting la-di-da
Etymology
Possible an alteration of high-fluting. Another speculation connects the term with high-flighting/-flying. First appears c. 1839 in the Spirit of the Times.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “highfalutin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details