Language tip of the week: proud

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips we look at how metaphor is used to express some common concepts in English. This week’s tip looks at metaphors used to talk about being proud:

Being too proud, and thinking that you are better than other people, is like being high up. Being humble is like being low down.

I can’t stand that superior attitude of his!
They look down on everyone who isn’t as rich as they are.
She’s got very uppity since she was promoted.
Despite his great wealth, he’s not at all stuck-up.
She treated other people with lofty disdain.
They look down their noses at people like us.
I don’t know why you’re being so high and mighty all of a sudden.
He rose from lowly origins.
His family snubbed her because she was low-born.
We were taught to look up to people from a higher class.
The way you crawl to him makes me sick.
I’m not going to abase myself before anyone.
They regarded ordinary working people as their social inferiors.