highfalutin

• hifalutin, hifalutin', hifalutin’, hifaluting
• highfalutin', highfalutin’, highfaluting
• high-falutin, high-falutin', high-falutin’, high-faluting
• high falutin, high falutin', high falutin’, high faluting

Possible alteration of high-fluting. In his book, The Adventure of English, Melvyn Bragg makes the unreferenced statement 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.[1] Compare riffraff. Another speculation connects the term with high-flighting/-flying.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌhaɪ.fəˈlu.tɨn/, /ˈhaɪ.fəˌlu.tɨn/

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highfalutin (comparative more highfalutin, superlative most highfalutin)

1. (informal) Self-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical.

   Synonyms: bombast, hoity-toity, pretentious

   It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery.

   That one Cajun that moved to Austin is too highfalutin to come back to Livingston Parish. He's over there with that mean bread lady!

   His speech was very highfalutin.

Said of people and writing.

highfalutin (uncountable)

1. (archaic) Pompous speech or writing.
   • 1865, Benn Pitman, The Assassination of President Lincoln: And the Trial of the Conspirators, page 43:

     Don't write so much highfalutin next time.

• highfalutin at OneLook Dictionary Search
• highfalutin in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.