give oneself airs

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

give oneself airs (third-person singular simple present gives oneself airs, present participle giving oneself airs, simple past gave oneself airs, past participle given oneself airs)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To act pretentiously, or in a snobbish manner; to swagger.

Synonyms

• put on airs

Translations

to act pretentiously

Finnish: hienostella (fi), herrastella French: se donner des airs, se donner un genre Italian: darsi delle arie, darsi un tono, darsi un contegno Maori: whakatamatama Polish: pysznić się impf Romanian: a-și da aere Russian: важничать (ru) (važničatʹ), зазнаваться (ru) (zaznavatʹsja) Silesian: asić sie impf, pysznić sie impf Spanish: darse ínfulas, darse tono Turkish: hava atmak (tr) (literally)

See also

• airs and graces