The word is highfalutin. It means pompous or pretentious. There are many alternative spellings, including high-falutin, high-falutin’, highfaluting, hifalutin, highfalutin’, and hifalutin’, but these have given way to the now standard form Most major dictionaries agree on this, though some list hifalutin and highfaluting as still-living spellings.
The exact origins of highfalutin are mysterious. It’s been speculated that the word comes from high-fluting and was used as a comical indictment of people who put on airs or think too highly of themselves, but we can’t say whether this is true.
Examples
It hardly seems right to watch the Super Bowl while eating the kind of highfalutin fare that excites Michelin-starred chefs. [Wall Street Journal]
Too often, charity writing is littered with the latest buzzwords and highfalutin phrases in the belief that this sounds impressive. [The Guardian]
Fancy-schmancy beautiful people might be hosting their highfalutin shindigs in Dallas. [Fort Worth Star Telegram]
