What do you consider posh?

[Fearlesssloth]

Is posh subjective/relative do you think or is there a universally agreed upon definition? I mean I guess everyone would say the royal family is posh right?! A work acquaintance called me posh today when I told her the street I live on and it made me think god if she thinks I’m posh where does she live?! Quite amusing as I’ve never been called posh before and the street I live on is mainly small 3-bed semis, mix of council and privately owned but not what I’d call posh, just not a council estate

@LucyLoo1972 thank you for sharing. I think I’m too old and skint to retrain but I sometimes wish I’d gone down this route, people fascinate me. It’s interesting you mention Grayson Perry, I saw one of his exhibitions years ago and it was not at all what I’d expected from him.

I met Lady Annabel Goldsmith a couple of times through mutual friends. She was the absolute final word in posh.

I think someone like Gyles Brandreth is posh.

😂

posh people are people who have “supper” at “tea” time

posh is a brilliantly British work, I wonder if there is an equivalent in French, I can’t think of one but they wouldn’t think of poshness in the same way. Similarly I don’t think you get “posh” in the US.

it’s easier to pin places, rather than people, as posh imo. Cotswolds is probably the poshest place I have been to.

i’ve been told I “sound quite posh” just because I don’t have the local accent (northern city, but not a native). I’d hate to be actually considered posh though. My friend thinks I have a posh house (I don’t, but it’s bigger than hers) but concedes that I am not actually posh.

I agree posh people can certainly be foul mouthed

That’s not posh, that’s common as muck.

I have a friend who isn’t really a friend anymore who thinks anyone who has critical intelligence and is educated is ‘posh’.

I have a dishwasher that Ive had for 5 years and never used it. I prefer to wash by hand. Never used the dishwasher in my old house either. When I was a teenager, anyone not in a council house was posh.

I know exactly what you mean but I won’t recognize this group as posh. Just well organized.

Oh gosh yes. I’d love a ha ha - well the house that went with it!

For me its not just wealth but inter generational wealth. You attended the right public schools and university. You dont do careers as chances are you have been groomed to take over the family business but for a few years you will bum around some soft job in the city before settling down to have kids in your late 20s. Your parents bought you a flat outright after graduation somewhere in Fulham just off the King's Road. You attend Royal Ascot, Henley Royal Regatta, Ham Polo and you are a member of a private members club in St James or Belgravia. Your wardrobe does not contain anything from the high street but from appointment only shops. You ski with your tight knit group of friends from public school in Verbier. Your future partner absolutely has to come from similar stock. You are not aloof to the hardships others may face but you are absolutely immune from them.

Ha ha! Well now I’m jealous you’re posher than me! Going to get my dessert spoons out! 😛

A ‘polite’ way to respond could have be pointing out the obvious right back to the speaker - ooh you’re short and a bit common 😄

(once you own a spoon there are no running costs)

This is a delightful sentence.

However, silver polish is required.

Yeah I agree with this, Posh to me is a funny concept when used to describe people, it makes me think of a certain middle class aspirational type, but I wouldn’t consider upper class or aristos to be posh!

Posh people dont use the word posh.

But I mean 'actual' 'posh' people as in old money rich aristocrats. I know a couple of them. They're nothing like what you may imagine. Old cars. No airs and graces. Swear a lot! Some of them are not at all bothered about dental care.

One reminds me a lot of Lord Sainsbury (google him)..

Some 'posh' people have no money now! But are posh due to background.

I've been called posh before. I grew up in a notoriously expensive village. I own a bungalow on a 'naice' street. I talk 'properly'(even though I swear)..I have degrees. Some of my clothes are expensive.

But I am not posh at all. My parents are self-made rich. I went to state school.

It's a word that does a lot of heavy lifting regarding what it can mean in different contexts!

People who try to ape others they perceive as "posh" by using "darling", "dontcha know", and "I" instead of "me" whether or not it's grammatically correct are most definitely common.
I love watching Come Dine with Me (which I'm sure marks me down as Not Posh) when there's always someone who's desperate to be called "posh" or "a princess" so they can vehemently deny it while absolutely believing that's what they are.
They sometimes have a bought title and want to be called "Lady Janice" or something and make a big thing about polishing other people's cutlery before using it (very vulgar behaviour).
And napkin rings - silver or not - are definitely not smart according to Jilly Cooper's Class. They just mean you don't get your napkins laundered daily.
I'm of lower middle extraction and married in to upper middle. Because of that, I've also mixed with some upper class people so have watched (and learned a bit).
The upper classes are the most relaxed and accepting, ime, and never go on about being "posh".

Similar lol

its completely subjective. My child attended a sport in one town where the parents deemed me posh, and then another where we are deemed poor as church mice 🤣

In fact,do the things what u wanna do is the most posh

I’m posh. AMA

I think in this instance that comment to you is similar and is used interchangeably along with ‘get you’ or ‘your posh’ is often used by one of our receptionists at work. When she is surprised if she finds out you or someone she sees as similar to herself is going on what she sees as a more expensive holiday, doing something expensive, having a higher unexpected qualification or having a more expensive car, handbag or item of clothing etc than her or than she thinks you can or should be able to have or afford etc. It’s a bit of a judgement statement not nasty but not really necessary.

What I think is posh is more quiet old money, not pretentious or flashy often living in a large old property not modern or new, high level of education, similarly wealthy and not flashy friends and family, no need to prove anything. Definitely not Turkey teeth, always taking selfies, bragging posts on social media, personalised number plates, asking or telling people loudly how much things cost and or how much they earn etc.

Where is Nicky Haslam when one genuinely needs him...

At least we can consult his teatowels for social guidance.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/dec/21/unpeeled-tomatoes-and-barn-conversions-nicky-haslam-reveals-whats-common-this-year

I would agree. My DD goes to a private school, generally the majority of families are like my DH and I (middle class, not posh by any means but brought up well in good areas) but there are a few I would definitely class as posh. They are quite ‘farm like’, been brought up in very upmarket farming areas/the countryside, don’t dress fashionable but their clothes are clearly good quality, go skiing regularly (I can’t think of anything worse than a ski holiday!!) and speak so well that when you are speaking to them you feel you have to change your own accent!!!