stuck up
Preserved but no longer current.
Said of pretentious people who give themselves airs, nobodies who assume to be somebodies. The allusion is to the peacock, which sticks up its train to add to its "im- portance" and "awe down*' antagonists.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “stuck up” mean?
Said of pretentious people who give themselves airs, nobodies who assume to be somebodies. The allusion is to the peacock, which sticks up its train to add to its "im- portance" and "awe down*' antagonists.
Is “stuck up” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.