high and mighty

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high and mighty (comparative higher and mightier or more high and mighty, superlative highest and mightiest or most high and mighty)

1. (idiomatic) Overbearingly arrogant; ostentatiously self-important or self-aggrandizing.
   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 179:

     When Inanna returns she finds that Dumuzi has not been lamenting her but has been acting high and mighty in his seat of kingship.

   Ever since she was placed in the gifted program, she's become so high and mighty that no one wants to be near her.

high and mighty pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) A social or economic group wielding undue power, influence or economic clout.

   The high and mighty are to be found at the Fairlawn Country Club on pleasant afternoons.