high and mighty

noun
1.
in a self-important, grandiose, or arrogant manner:
They talk high and mighty, but they owe everyone in town.
2.
persons who are members of or identify with the higher social strata of society, especially those who are powerful or arrogant.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English: title of dignity

high-and-mighty

[hahy-uh n-mahy-tee, -uh nd-] /ˈhaɪ ənˈmaɪ ti, -ənd-/
adjective
1.
haughty; arrogant.
Related forms
high-and-mightiness, noun
Examples from the web for high and mighty
  • No sense getting high and mighty when you have made yourself a dependent.
  • The visits of these high and mighty types are useful for recognition of something important happening on the ground.
  • His biggest mistake was getting found out, giving people the chance to get all high and mighty about it.
  • Scandal among the high and mighty is one of our preferred forms of entertainment.
  • The time has gone when parties can live on their past, no matter how high and mighty it was.
Idioms and Phrases with high and mighty

high and mighty

Conceited, haughty, as in She was too high and mighty to make her own bed. This expression originally alluded to high-born rulers and was being transferred to the merely arrogant by the mid-1600s.