plume oneself

plume oneself idiom
Congratulate oneself, boast, as in He plumed himself on his victory. This idiom transfers the bird's habit of dressing its feathers to human self-satisfaction. [First half of 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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