God's own cousin
- idiom
- Offensive
:
engreído
- After his promotion, he strutted around the office as if he were God's own cousin.
Examples
-
You don't have to act like God's own cousin just because you passed the exam.
-
She acts like she's God's own cousin when she talks to others.
-
She rolled her eyes at his God's own cousin attitude and walked away.
-
Don't be such a God's own cousin at the party!
-
After receiving the award, he walked around the room like he was God's own cousin.
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Her God's own cousin demeanor annoyed everyone in the meeting.
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You really don’t need to behave like God's own cousin now that you are in charge.
Synonyms
A person treated as if they had great power and importance by other people
A person who pretends to be very good and judges others
How Arrogant
8
9.9
- Offensive
- Offensive
4
6.8
- Offensive
72
5.1
- Offensive
12
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
God's + own + cousin
The literal constituents ('God's' + 'own' + 'cousin') suggest a kinship relation rather than the ironic insult meaning; a B1 learner who knows the words would likely interpret a literal or odd familial sense but not infer the sarcastic judgment of superiority. The phrase depends on cultural/ironic usage and idiomatic pragmatics (mocking someone who acts as if divinely entitled), which is not predictable from the parts and therefore opaque to learners.
Etymology
God's own cousin is a saying that may come from the idea of someone acting as if they were close family to God or even a special cousin, so they behave like they are better than others. That's why the phrase is used for someone who acts 'superior' or 'very proud'.