ritz
[rits]
- ostentatious or pretentious display.
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- Slang. to treat with condescension; snub: The star ritzed the reporters and got a bad press.
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- put on the ritz, Informal. to live in elegance and luxury, especially to make an ostentatious show of one's wealth: They put on the ritz to impress their guests.Also put on the Ritz.
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Origin of ritz
First recorded in 1925–30; after the sumptuous hotels founded by César Ritz (died 1918), Swiss entrepreneur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ritz
Contemporary Examples
I had the privilege of interviewing Mohammed Assaf before he took the stage at The Ritz.
And Truth Revolt plans to bring active pressure to bear on sponsors and advertisers, as it is doing with Ritz and Sharpton.
The first Sharpton sponsor the group is targeting is Ritz Crackers, owned by Chicago-based Mondelez International.
Moments later, Hudson gives the Kaiser yet another gift: a blue teddy bear, which, of course, he got at the Ritz.
Karl Lagerfeld Shows His Paternal Side in Carine Roitfeld DocumentaryIsabel Wilkinson
September 3, 2013
“It sounds kind of silly, but I really loved him,” says Ritz, 60.
Historical Examples
RITZ, innkeeper who made hotels in which we all would like to stop, but cannot.
Who Was Who: 5000 B. C. to DateAnonymous
I thought it was to be at the Ritz and we've been hanging about there for a dog's age.
Miss Pat at Artemis LodgePemberton Ginther
The only thing I learnt was that she was staying at the "Ritz."
An Onlooker in France 1917-1919William Orpen
At about four o'clock, when we returned to the Ritz, Coralie was baffled.
Man and MaidElinor Glyn
And greatly exhilarated, I decided to go and lunch with Maurice at the Ritz.
Man and MaidElinor Glyn
ritz
- put on the ritz to assume a superior air or make an ostentatious display
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Word Origin
from the luxury hotels created by the Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850–1918)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ritz
Ritz
n.
"high quality, superiority," 1910 (Ritzian, adj., is attested by 1908), in reference to the luxurious Ritz hotels in New York, London, Paris, etc., commemorating Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850-1918). To put on the ritz "assume an air of superiority" is recorded from 1926. A verb ritz "to behave haughtily" is recorded from 1911.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper