airs and graces

noun
/ˌɛəz‿n̩ ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/UK/ˌɛɚz‿n̩ ˈɡɹeɪsɪz/US

Definitions

  1. Behaviour adopted to demonstrate (originally) one's good upbringing

    Behaviour adopted to demonstrate (originally) one's good upbringing; or (now) one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour.

    • He made a thouſand uggly Faces, / VVhich (as ſometimes in Ladies caſes) / VVere all deſign'd for Airs and Graces.
    • Nature has laid out all her airt in beautifying the face; […] giving it airs and graces that cannot be described, and surrounded it with such a flowing shade of hair as sets all its beauties in the most agreeable light.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for airs and graces. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA