put on the ritz

verb

to make a show of luxury and extravagance

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Meanings

put on the ritz1

verbput 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)

present singular third person puts on the ritz · participle present putting on the ritz · alternative put on the Ritz

  1. idiomaticto make a show of luxury and extravagance

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

    1921 May 26, Chicago Daily Tribune
    2 more examples

    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.

    1929, Irving Berlin, “Puttin' on the Ritz”

    "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."

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

put on the Ritz2

verbput 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)

present singular third person puts on the Ritz · participle present putting on the Ritz

  1. Alternative letter-case form of put on the ritz.

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

put on the ritz. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20on%20the%20ritz

MLA

“put on the ritz.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20on%20the%20ritz. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put on the ritz,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20on%20the%20ritz.

Source: put on the ritz on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.