give oneself airs

English

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
• Romanian: a-și da aere
• Russian: важничать (ru) (važničatʹ), зазнаваться (ru) (zaznavatʹsja)
• Spanish: darse ínfulas, darse tono
• Turkish: hava atmak (tr) (literally)

See also

• airs and graces