hoity-toities

Noun

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

1. (archaic, uncountable) Behaviour adopted to demonstrate one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour; airs and graces.
   • [O]ne piece of early homage still / Exacted of you; after your three bouts / At hoitytoity, great men with long words, / And so forth,— […]1875, Robert Browning, Aristophanes’ Apology […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 142

   Synonyms:

   affectations, airs, huffiness, pretensions

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

   Synonyms:

   flightiness, giddiness, silliness, frolic, high jinks, romping

3. (UK, countable, dialectal) A young woman regarded as flighty, giddy, or silly.
   • 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.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...

See all 8 meanings of hoity-toity