put on the ritz

To behave extravagantly, lavishly, or self-importantly; to make an ostentatious production, presentation, or appearance. My wife always feels like she has to put on the ritz whenever my parents come to visit. During the economic boom, you had people from all walks of life putting on the ritz. All that ended when the crash hit, though.

If you put on the Ritz, you spend a lot of money to enjoy yourself in a grand way. Footballer Wayne Rooney really put on the Ritz as he treated fiancee Coleen McLoughlin to a romantic break in Paris. Note: This expression may come from the chain of expensive hotels called Ritz.

Acting in a pretentiously stylish and affluent manner. César Ritz, founder of the Hotel Ritz in Paris and Ritz Hotel in London, lent his name to these and other highly fashionable institutions. To behave as if you belonged in such opulent settings and demand that you be treated as if you did would lead to being accused of “putting on the Ritz” or simply being “ritzy.” The phrase is best known as the title of a 1929 Irving Berlin song that has been performed by, among other, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Peter Boyle (as the monster in Mel Brooks' movie Young Frankenstein). A similar expression is “putting on the dog,” coming perhaps from high collars and jeweled chokers known as “dogs.”