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Hoity-toity

Definition: Hoity-toity

Hoity-toity

Adjective

1. Affectedly genteel.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "hoity-toity" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1827. (references)

Note: Hoity-toity \Hoi"ty-toi`ty\, adjective. [From Hoit.]. (Websters 1913)


Specialty Definitions: Hoity-toity

DomainDefinitions

Literature

Hoity-toity
(1) Hoity-toity spirits means high spirits, extremely elated and flighty. Selden, in his Table Talk, says: "In Queen Elizabeth's time gravity and state were kept up ... but in King Charles's time there was nothing but Frenchmore [French manners] ... tolly-polly, and hoit-comme-toit, ' where hoit comme toit means flightiness.
(2) As an exclamation of reproof it means, Your imagination or spirits are running out of all bounds; hoit-a-toit! hity-tity! "Hoity-toity! What have I to do with dreams?" (Congreve.
We have the verb "to hoit" = to assume; to be elated in spirits, and perhaps hoity-toity is only one of those words with which our language abounds; as, harum-scarum, titty-totty, nambypamby, hugger-mugger, fiddle-faddle, and scores of others. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Slang in 1811

HOITY-TOITY. A hoity-toity wench; a giddy, thoughtless, romping girl. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Synonyms: Hoity-toity

Synonyms: grandiose (adj), hifalutin (adj), highfalutin (adj), highfaluting (adj), la-di-da (adj). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Hoity-toity

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Wonder

Interjection: lo, lo and behold! O! heyday! halloo! what! indeed! really! surely! humph! hem! good lack, good heavens, good gracious! Ye gods! good Lord! good grief! Holy cow! My word! Holy shit!, gad so! welladay! dear me! only think! lackadaisy! my stars, my goodness! gracious goodness! goodness gracious! mercy on us! heavens and earth! God bless me! bless us, bless my heart! odzookens! O gemini! adzooks! hoity-toity! strong! Heaven save the mark, bless the mark! can such things be! zounds! 'sdeath! what on earth, what in the world! who would have thought it!; (inexpectation); you don't say so! You're kidding!. No kidding? what do you say to that! nous verrons! how now! where am I?

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Hoity-toity

English words defined with "hoity-toity": Highty-tighty. (references)

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Commercial Usage: Hoity-toity

DomainTitle

Books

  • The Hoity-Toity Mouse, and Other Bayou Tales (reference)

    (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Hoity-toity

"Hoity-toity" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Hoity-toity" is used about 4 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)100%4175,879

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Hoity-toity

Language Translations for "hoity-toity"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Bulgarian 

  

стига си се фукал, какво се ежиш. (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

ugyan ugyan, nana. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

oity-toityhay

   

Romanian

  

hait (be off, fiddlededee, hop it, sling your hook). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

ну и ну. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

tate. (various references)

   

Turkish

  

kendini beğenmiş (arrogant, assuming, bighead, bigheaded, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, cocky, conceited, egotistical, haughty, high hat, high-flown, high-flying, hoity toity, holier-than-thou, important, insufferable, jackanapes, jumped-up, mugwump, overweening, pompous, pretentious, prig, priggish, self sufficient, self-important, self-opinionated, self-righteous, smug, Sniffy, snooty, snotty, stuck up, stuffed shirt, stuffy, supercilious, swelled head, swollen-headed, taffy-nosed, toffee-nosed, toffy-nosed, uppish, uppity, upstage, vain). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

чи ти ба (heigh). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

lông bông; nhẹ dạ; hay đùa giỡn kiêu căng, kiêu kỳ hay nôn nóng; hay cáu kỉnh. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Rhyming with "Hoity-toity"

Words rhyming with "hoity-toity" (pronounced 'Hoi"ty-toi`ty'): Anaplasty, Autoplasty, Canthoplasty, Cheiloplasty, Coreplasty, Fool-hasty, Galvanoplasty, Helcoplasty, Homoplasty, Labioplasty, Meloplasty, Morioplasty, Naivety, Neoplasty, Osteomanty, Osteoplasty, Pederasty, Perineoplasty, Photo-epinasty, Purparty, rhinoplasty, Staphyloplasty, Stomatoplasty, Theopneusty, Uraniscoplasty, uranoplasty, Urethroplasty. (additional references)

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Anagrams: Hoity-toity

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "h-i-i-o-o-t-t-t-y-y"

-4 letters: toothy.

-5 letters: hooty, titty, tooth.

 Words containing the letters "h-i-i-o-o-t-t-t-y-y"
 

+3 letters: phytotoxicity.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Alternative Orthography: Hoity-toity


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

48 6F 69 74 79 2D 74 6F 69 74 79

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01001000 01101111 01101001 01110100 01111001 00101101 01110100 01101111 01101001 01110100 01111001

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#72 &#111 &#105 &#116 &#121 &#45 &#116 &#111 &#105 &#116 &#121

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0048 006F 0069 0074 0079 002D 0074 006F 0069 0074 0079

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

4281758691158681758691

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Commercial
5. Usage Frequency
6. Translations: Modern
7. Rhymes
8. Anagrams
9. Orthography
10. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.