Origin of stuck up

Posted by TheFallen on March 31, 2003

In Reply to: Origin of stuck up posted by R. Berg on March 31, 2003

: : Does anyone out there know the origin of the expression: stuck up meaning arrogant? Thanks.

: I don't know for sure. I imagine that it comes from "up" in its figurative meaning of above other people. A stuck-up person acts bigger than you. Such a person is stuck "up" and never comes down.

I have no definitive source on this, but I've always assumed that it's a contraction of "having one's nose stuck up in the air", a British expression meaning arrogant or snobbish. Nasal position seems to be important in these things. We also have the phrase "to look down one's nose at someone", meaning to view someone as socially beneath you.