put on frills

Definitions

To act in a pretentious or snobbish way.

dated, idiomatic

Examples

“[…] he put⟳ his head in again, and cussed me for putting on frills and trying to be better than him; and when I reckoned he was gone, he come⟳ back and put⟳ his head in again, and told me to mind⟳ about that school, because he was going to lay⟳ for me and lick me if I didn’t drop that.”

““She said we were really the only people on the ship they cared to know⟳.” “I shouldn’t have⟳ thought a missionary was such a big bug that he could afford⟳ to put⟳ on frills.””

“[…] your sneers against Doctor Hardy are lies! He doesn’t put⟳ on frills, or have⟳ an office in a fashionable location, or drive⟳ around in an expensive automobile.”

CEFR level