COCK-A-LOFTADJ.
affectedly lofty, stuck up, conceited ...1862 colloq. ETYMOLOGY formed by vague association with cock (vb. to behave boastfully or defiantly, to swagger, to strut), and such compounds as 'cockalorum', 'cock-a-hoop', 'cock-horse' FIRST DOCUMENTED USE 1862 - See Example below EXAMPLE "...Some rubbishing cock-aloft notion of 'doing right!' " From: Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles By Mrs. Henry Wood, 1862 SOURCES • The English Dialect Dictionary, Joseph Wright, 1898-1905 • A Glossary of the Dialect of Almondbury and Huddersfield, Rev. Alfred Easther, 1883 • Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present, John S. Farmer, W.E. Henley, 1891-1902 • The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang , Eric Partridge, 1973
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