holier-than-thou

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English

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WOTD – 4 August 2020

Etymology

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From Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou”;[1][2] from Biblical Hebrew קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ (qəḏaštîḵā).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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holier-than-thou (comparative more holier-than-thou, superlative most holier-than-thou)

  1. (derogatory) Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:arrogant
    • [1874 May 21, “The Work of the National Board”, in The Baltimore Underwriter: A Weekly Journal Devoted to the Interests of Insurance in All Its Branches, volume XI, number 21, Baltimore, Md.: Bombaugh & Ransom, […], →OCLC, page 421:
      [T]here are local jealousies and disunities which are not likely to be soothed by the patent fact that companies which most strenuously assert the I-am-holier-than-thou claim daily violate the rules by which they profess to be invariably governed, [...]]
    • 1887 November 18, “The Hippolytus of Eur[i]pides”, in The Dartmouth (4th series), volume 9, number 5, Hanover, N.H.: The editors [from Dartmouth College], published 1888, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 107, column 1:
      Hippolytus is quite insufferable in his endless protestations of pity and purity. One tires of such abnormal goodness and wishes for a little natural depravity. He is a perfect type of the "holier than thou" individual whose secret heart is a very stagnation of egotism, selfishness and disregard for others' feelings.
    • 1888, Fitz-Mac [pseudonym; James P. MacCarthy], “The Rev. Myron W[inslow] Reed”, in Political Portraits, Colorado Springs, Colo.: The Gazette Printing Co., →OCLC, page 94:
      His garb is such as any gentleman might wear—a farmer, a thrifty mechanic, a teacher, or a plain business man—a brown slouch hat, any kind of a simple necktie, any kind of a coat except the unctuous holier-than-thou broadcloth with the front full of button holes.
    • 1952 March 29, Harry S. Truman, “Address at the Jefferson–Jackson Day Dinner”, in Harry S. Truman, 1952–53: […] (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States), Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service; United States Government Printing Office, published 1966, →OCLC, page 225, column 1:
      I don't think the "black is white" campaign of the Republican Party is going to succeed. I think the voters are going to see through this holier-than-thou disguise that our Republican friends are putting on.
    • 1980 December 1, Ray Hnatyshyn, “Judges Act: Measure to Increase Salaries of Judges”, in House of Commons Debates, Official Report, First Session—Thirty-second Parliament, 29 Elizabeth II (House of Commons of Canada), volume V, Ottawa: Queen’s Printer for Canada, →OCLC, page 5211, column 2:
      But I can understand the hon. member's sense of sanctimony; he has now been a member of the NDP caucus for a while and the holier-than-thou attitude has been bred into him.
    • 1991 July 8, George [Herbert Walker] Bush, “Interview with Foreign Journalists”, in George Bush, 1991 (in Two Books) (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States), book II, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service; United States Government Printing Office, published 1992, →OCLC, page 835, column 2:
      The Soviet economy is hurting now, and I say that not holier-than-thou, but it is; factually, the Soviet economy is in bad shape.
    • 2003, Lothar Höbelt, “The Nazi Question Mark: The ‘Linguistic Turn’ and the ‘Shadows of the Past’”, in Defiant Populist: Jörg Haider and the Politics of Austria (Central European Studies), West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, →ISBN, page 121:
      Whether you see that as belated recognition of a collective shame (if not guilt) or as a "holier than thou" pharisaism, it was certainly made much simpler by the fact that the generation under discussion had started to fade from public life.
    • 2014 September 30, David Smith, “David’s Guide for What to Look For in a Centre”, in Suffer the Little Children: An Insider’s View of the Workings of Early Childcare Facilities in New Zealand […], [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, pages 94–95:
      Everything connected with the care of children no matter how trivial has to be seen to be politically correct. This tends to create a "holier-than-thou" attitude, where if something even hints of being politically incorrect, then no matter how much fun it might be for the children, it will not take place.

Usage notes

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The term has become a snowclone, a format now used of other qualities, for example lefter-than-thou: see Appendix:Snowclones/Xer than thou.

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ See The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Isaiah 65:2 and 5, column 1: “I haue ſpread out my hands all the day vnto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their owne thoughts: [...] Which ſay; Stand by thy ſelfe, come not neere to me; for I am holier then thou: theſe are a ſmoke in my noſe; a fire that burneth all the day.”
  2. ^ “holier-than-thou” under “holy, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1899; “holier-than-thou, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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