high-flown
adj1
pretentiously eloquent; highly figurative
- Red River Settlement is, to use a high-flown expression, an oasis in the desert, and may be likened to a spot upon the moon or a solitary ship upon the ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement on the borders of one of the vast prairies of North America.1850, R.M. Ballantyne, Hudson Bay:
2
lofty, extravagant, refined
- It seems to me he makes troubles, by expecting every one else to be as quixotic as himself. He is not likely to find high-flown notions among ordinary business men!1905, Mrs George de Horne Vaizey, A Houseful of Girls:
- Synonyms
- bombastic, high-minded, highfalutin