from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
adjective Pretentiously self-important; pompous.
adjective Given to frivolity or silliness.
from The Century Dictionary.
Elated; giddy; flighty; petulant; huffy: as, he is in hoity-toity spirits.
An exclamation denoting surprise or disapprobation, with some degree of contempt: equivalent to pshaw.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
adjective Thoughtless; giddy; flighty; also, haughty; patronizing; ; used also as an exclamation, denoting surprise or disapprobation, with some degree of contempt.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
adjective Pompous, self-important and snobbish.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adjective affectedly genteel
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From reduplication of dialectal hoit, to romp; perhaps akin to hoyden.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From the archaic verb hoit ("to play the fool; to behave thoughtlessly and frivolously")
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Examples
He's a troubled kid at a fancy, hoity-toity high school, says Mitchell.
The rhetoric of prejudicial disdain is meted out, on the one hand against the “hoity-toity”, and on the other against the “hoi poloi” -- against the “snob” with complex tastes and the “pleb” with simple tastes.
The rhetoric of prejudicial disdain is meted out, on the one hand against the “hoity-toity”, and on the other against the “hoi poloi” -- against the “snob” with complex tastes and the “pleb” with simple tastes.
It has allowed Mrs. Palin to dismiss any criticism of her—no matter how straightforward—as yet more hostility from opponents, or as hoity-toity blather from inside-the-Beltway mopes.
whichbe commented on the word hoity-toity
1. Pretentiously self-important; pompous.
2. Given to frivolity or silliness.
May 15, 2008
bilby commented on the word hoity-toity
"A hoity-toity wench: a giddy, thoughtless, romping girl."
- Francis Grose, 'The Vulgar Tongue'.
September 8, 2008
madmouth commented on the word hoity-toity
An invective against a 'proud puss' (e.g. "Hoity-toity, Miss Starr!" -L.M. Montgomery, 'Emily of New Moon')
April 10, 2009
sionnach commented on the word hoity-toity
Ooh! *Plans to try it out on Boris at the first available opportunity*
April 10, 2009