put on the ritz

• put on the Ritz

Evokes the image of putting on extravagent clothing worthy of the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London, opened in 1906. Phrase in print by 1921.

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put on the ritz (third-person singular simple present puts on the ritz, present participle putting on the ritz, simple past and past participle put on the ritz)

1. (idiomatic) to make a show of luxury and extravagance
   • 1921 May 26, Chicago Daily Tribune‎:

     The whole gang has put on the Ritz and are strutting about like a collection of pouter pigeons.

   • 1929, Irving Berlin (lyrics and music), “Puttin' on the Ritz”:

     If you're blue and you don't know
     Where to go to
     Why don't you go
     where Harlem sits
     Puttin' on the Ritz.
     Spangled gowns
     Upon a bevy
     Of high browns
     From down the Levee, all misfits
     Puttin' on the Ritz.

   • 1989, Marylyn Springer, Arthur Frommer, Frommer's Guide to Florida, 1990 - Page 465‎:

     "One of the most beautiful hotels to open in Florida in recent years, the Ritz-Carlton puts on the ritz but in subtle style, illustrating elegance without shouting about it."