hoity-toity

See also: hoity toity

English

WOTD – 4 August 2023

Alternative forms

• hoitytoity, hoity toity

Etymology

Probably from hoit (“to behave frivolously and thoughtlessly; to play the fool”) +‎ -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’), reduplicated with a change of the initial consonant. The noun is attested earlier than the adjective.^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɔɪtiˈtɔɪti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪti

Noun

hoity-toity (countable and uncountable, plural hoity-toities)

1. (uncountable, archaic) Behaviour adopted to demonstrate one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour; airs and graces.

   Synonyms: affectations, airs, huffiness, pretensions

   • 1875, Robert Browning, Aristophanes’ Apology […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 142:

     [O]ne piece of early homage still / Exacted of you; after your three bouts / At hoitytoity, great men with long words, / And so forth,— […]

2. (uncountable, obsolete) Flighty, giddy, or silly behaviour; also, noisy merriment.

   (flighty behaviour): Synonyms: flightiness, giddiness, silliness

   (noisy merriment): Synonyms: frolic, high jinks, romping

   • 1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Fourth Vision of Loving Fools”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 123:

     The VViddovvs I observ'd that vvere marching off, vvith the marque out of their mouths, vvere hugely concern'd to be thought Young, and ſtill talking of Maſques, Balls, Fiddles, Treats; Chanting and Jigging to every tune they heard, and all upon the Hoyty-Toyty like mad vvenches of fifteen.

   • 1719, [Thomas] d’Urfey, “An Epilogue. For Crab and Gillian: In One of My Comedies.”, in Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive; […], volume I, London: […] W. Pearson, for J[acob] Tonson, […], published 19th century, →OCLC, page 354:

     And I'll divert ye with my Hoyty toyty; / With Fortune's choicest Blessings may regale ye, / And Wealth, and Wine, and Women, never fail ye.

   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Danton, No Weakness”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume III (The Guillotine), London: James Fraser, […], →OCLC, book VI (Thermidor), page 358:

     If this [Georges] Danton were to burst your meshwork!—Very curious indeed to consider. It turns on a hair: and what a Hoitytoity was there, Justice and Culprit changing places; and the whole History of France running changed!

3. (countable, British, dialectal) A young woman regarded as flighty, giddy, or silly.
   • 1719, [Thomas] d’Urfey, “The Scotch Cuckold: A New Song to a Northern Tune”, in Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive; […], volume I, London: […] W. Pearson, for J[acob] Tonson, […], published 19th century, →OCLC, page 255:

     Whily Kate the Brown, the Plump, / The Frowzy Browzy, / Hoyty Toyty, / Covent-Garden Harridan, / Soon made poor Jockey’s Head to Ake, / And spoyl’d him for a merry Man.

Translations

behaviour adopted to demonstrate one’s superiority — see airs and graces

flighty, giddy, or silly behaviour — see flightiness,‎ silliness

noisy merriment — see high jinks

young woman regarded as flighty, giddy, or silly

Finnish: heitukka (fi) Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Adjective

hoity-toity (comparative hoity-toitier, superlative hoity-toitiest)

1. Affected or pretentious, sometimes with the implication of displaying an air of excessive fanciness or ostentation; pompous, self-important, snobbish; often displaying a feeling of patronizing self-aggrandizing or arrogant class superiority.
   • 1819 (date written), John Keats, “The Cap and Bells; or, The Jealousies”, in [Horace Elisha Scudder], editor, The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats, Cambridge edition, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], published 1899, →OCLC, stanza LXXIX, page 230, column 1:

     [S]ee what hoity-toity airs she took […].

   • 2016, Liz Nugent, “Karen”, in Lying in Wait, [Dublin]: Penguin Ireland, →ISBN, page 113:

     The other models were gas fun, though they were all a bit hoity-toity.

2. (obsolete) Flighty, giddy, silly; also, merry in a noisy manner.
   • 1690, [John] Dryden, Amphitryon; or, The Two Sosia’s. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […]; and M. Tonson […], published 1691, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, page 21:

     [W]e have been married fifteen Years, I take it: and that hoighty toighty buſineſs ought, in Conſcience, to be over.

Derived terms

• hoity-toitily
• hoity-toitiness

Translations

affected or pretentious, sometimes with the implication of displaying an air of excessive fanciness or ostentation — see also pompous,‎ snobbish

Bulgarian: надменен (bg) (nadmenen), префърцунен (bg) (prefǎrcunen) Finnish: koppava (fi) German: etepetete (de) Macedonian: на́дмен (nádmen), на́дуен (náduen) Polish: ą-ę (pl) Romanian: arogant (ro), încrezut (ro), îngâmfat (ro) Swedish: pompös (sv), snobbig (sv), uppblåst (sv) Welsh: ffroenuchel (cy)

Adverb

hoity-toity (comparative more hoity-toity, superlative most hoity-toity) (obsolete)

1. Flightily, giddily.
2. Merrily, in a noisy manner.
   • 1762 December 8 (first performance), [Isaac Bickerstaffe], “Air XVIII”, in Love in a Village; a Comic Opera. […], 4th edition, London: […] W. Griffin; for J[ohn] Newbery, and W. Nicoll, […]; G[eorge] Kearsley, […]; T[homas] Davies, […]; and J. Walter, […], published 1763, →OCLC, Act II, scene iii, page 30:

     Then hoity, toity, / VVhiſking, friſking, / Green vvas her govvn upon the graſs: / Oh! ſuch vvere the joys of our dancing days.

Interjection

hoity-toity

1. (dated) Expressing disapprobation or surprise at acts or words that are pompous or snobbish, or flighty.
   • 1695, [William] Congreve, Love for Love: A Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene x, page 46:

     Hoity toity, VVhat have I to do vvith his Dreams or his Divination—Body o' me, this is a Trick to defer Signing the Conveyance.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, “Containing Scenes of Altercation, of No Very Uncommon Kind”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 59:

     ‘Hoity! toity!’ cries Honour, ‘Madam is in her Airs, I proteſt. […]’

   • 1762 December 8 (first performance), [Isaac Bickerstaffe], Love in a Village; a Comic Opera. […], 4th edition, London: […] W. Griffin; for J[ohn] Newbery, and W. Nicoll, […]; G[eorge] Kearsley, […]; T[homas] Davies, […]; and J. Walter, […], published 1763, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, page 26:

     VVhy, here is nothing in the vvorld in this houſe but catter-vvavvling from morning till night, nothing but catter-vvavvling. Hoity toity! vvho have vve here?

   • 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, “Of the Proceedings of Nicholas, and Certain Internal Divisions in the Company of Mrs. Vincent Crummles”, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 478:

     "I have some reason to fear," interrupted Nicholas, "that before you leave here my career with you will have closed." […] "Why, he don't mean to say he's going!" exclaimed Mrs. Grudden, making her way towards Mrs. Crummles. "Hoity toity! nonsense."

   • 1929 November, May Byron, chapter II, in J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: Retold for Little People […], London: Hodder and Stoughton, published 1958, →OCLC, part II (The Little House in Kensington Gardens), page 70:

     "Hoity-toity!" said the Chrysanthemum, "what is this? Who is it? Where is it?" So she had to come out from under the holly; and the young trees gathered round her, fussing and twittering, and asked each other what they had better do. It was very puzzing for them—because no such thing had ever happened before, as a Human Child in the Gardens on a winter night.

Translations

expressing disapprobation or surprise at acts or words that are pompous or snobbish, or flighty

Finnish: onpa koppavaa Macedonian: please add this translation if you can Welsh: twt-twt, hoiti-toiti

References

1. “hoity-toity, n., adj., adv., and int.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “hoity-toity, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.