hear it again

: a strutting supercilious person

Example sentence:
The cast and crew of the production soon learned to ignore the vain arrogance of the temperamental popinjay who was playing the leading role.

Etymology:
Popinjays and parrots are birds of a feather, etymologically speaking. "Popinjay" was borrowed from a Middle French word for "parrot" back in the 1500s, when parrots were rare and were considered exotic. At that time, it was quite a compliment to be called a "popinjay" after such a beautiful bird. But as parrots became more commonplace, their gaudy plumage and vulgar mimicry helped "popinjay" develop the pejorative sense we use today.