put on the ritz
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See also: put on the Ritz
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Evokes the image of putting on extravagent clothing worthy of the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London, opened in 1906. Phrase in print by 1921.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
put on the ritz (third-person singular simple present puts on the ritz, present participle putting on the ritz, simple past and past participle put on the ritz)
- (idiomatic) to make a show of luxury and extravagance
- 1921 May 26, Chicago Daily Tribune[1]:
- The whole gang has put on the Ritz and are strutting about like a collection of pouter pigeons.
- 1929, Irving Berlin (lyrics and music), “Puttin' on the Ritz”:
- If you're blue and you don't know
Where to go to
Why don't you go
where Harlem sits
Puttin' on the Ritz.
Spangled gowns
Upon a bevy
Of high browns
From down the Levee, all misfits
Puttin' on the Ritz.
- 1989, Marylyn Springer, Arthur Frommer, Frommer's Guide to Florida, 1990 - Page 465[2]:
- "One of the most beautiful hotels to open in Florida in recent years, the Ritz-Carlton puts on the ritz but in subtle style, illustrating elegance without shouting about it."