high horse

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noun

a haughty attitude or temper; a contemptuous manner.

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Origin of high horse

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

This would be our first serious conversation and I do not want to come off as being on a high horse.
How Can I Get My Roommate to Take the Pandemic Seriously?|Jamie Ducharme|January 6, 2021|Time
Three years into parenting, I’ve climbed off my high horse and embraced how damned cute kids gear can be.
What Our Gear Guy Is Gifting for Christmas|Joe Jackson|December 20, 2020|Outside Online
Eric Garcetti succeeded Villaraigosa and has received high marks in his first year and a half on the job.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nor does the jet have the ability to capture high-definition video, utilize an infra-red pointer.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The most recent activity had a high point of 3.6 on the Richter Scale.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He felt his body grow limp (like one of those high-speed films of a flower wilting).
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
As Spain, however, has fallen from the high place she once held, her colonial system has also gone down.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

high horse

To be on one's “high horse” is to be disdainful or conceited: “Sally got tired of Peter's snobbery and finally told him to get off his high horse.”

high horse

see on one's high horse.