I. intransitive verb
also la-de-da or la-di-dah |lädē|dä
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: perhaps alteration of lardy-dardy, adjective
: to speak or act in a la-di-da manner : behave in an affectedly refined or elegant manner
II. noun
also la-de-da or la-di-dah “ ; or lah-di-dah “
( -s )
1. : a person who affects gentility or elegance : a pretentious imitator of cultivated speech or manners
2. : behavior characteristic of a la-di-da : affected gentility or gentility so exaggerated as to seem affected : genteelness ; especially : an exaggeratedly genteel accent or a mincing prissiness of expression
with your car and your la-di-da and Honorable and all the rest of it — Nigel Balchin
the soldier's blasphemy takes the curse off the aesthete's la-di-da — J.W.Beach
III. adjective
also la-de-da or la-di-dah or lah-di-dah “
1. : characteristic of a la-di-da : affectedly refined or polished : exaggeratedly upper-class in speech and manners : genteel
with their gentlemen's voices and la-di-da manners — C.S.Forester
the exotic and inscrutable Chinese … is no more true to life than the la-di-da Englishman — Owen Lattimore
complaints against the la-de-da pronunciation of some of their hirelings — H.L.Mencken
2.
a. : highfalutin , pretentious
collecting and drinking wine … a dandy hobby, if the vocabulary weren't so la-di-da — Clifton Fadiman
b. : mincing , sissified
a la-di-da book about men's clothes — G.T.Hellman
3. : characteristic of the world of fashion and wealth : elegant , high-toned , stylish
the la-di-da doings of high society — J.P.O'Donnell
: extravagant , lavish
la-de-da parties and glamour girls — Time