toot one's own horn

toot one's own horn

Variants

• blow one's own horn
• blow one's own trumpet

Meaning | Synonyms

• speak boastfully about oneself
• to brag about or be pretentious by one's own accomplishments
• to draw attention to one's self

Example Sentences

1. My father told me never to toot my own horn.
2. To be celebrated, you have to toot your own horn.
3. Toot your own horn, because I am not going to toot it for you.
4.  It's good to toot your own horn for the reason that occasionally you required to be your finest spokesperson.
5. Julia always keep blowing her own horn in front of everybody.

Origin

Before this phrase became to toot your own horn, it was to blow your own trumpet. The first use was ascribed to the King James Bible, and it wasn't explicitly spelt out as blow your trumpet but appeared as:

“Take heed that ye do not give your alms before men to be seen…”

Then as early as 1447, horns were sounded like a sign of imminent danger. Whereas, in 1549, it was said that trumpets were blown to announce the arrival of a king and this is done amidst fanfare and celebrations. After that, it made an appearance in the 19th century in Anthony Trollope's work, “Australia and New Zealand” where he described a gentleman blowing his own trumpet in the colonies.

It began to be used in its present form in the United States in 1776 as a declaration of self-independence as published in the Warren-Adams letters and this has allowed for adaptation into more modern circumstances.