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Quiz about Are You Proper Posh
Quiz about Are You Proper Posh

Are You Proper Posh? Trivia Quiz


"Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee"; so said Ben Jonson. Anthropologist Kate Fox, in her excellent book "Watching the English", believes that an Englishman's choice of words clearly defines the class of the speaker. So can you do posh?

A multiple-choice quiz by Snowman. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
Snowman
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
278,613
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
2279
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 89 (5/10), Guest 51 (4/10), holetown (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. According to Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", if someone speaks to you but you don't quite hear what they said, what is the correct English upper class response? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What have Kate Fox's studies revealed as what the English upper classes would call the room which one visits to relieve oneself? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which word, according to Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", would an English upper class person use to describe a small piece of cloth used in wiping the lips and fingers and in protecting the clothes while eating; "serviette" or "napkin"?

Answer: (One Word - serviette or napkin)
Question 4 of 10
4. What, reports Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", would an English upper class person call the meal one has in the middle of the day (or thereabouts)? And the one in the evening? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. And what word is revealed, in Kate Fox's "Watching the English", as the correct name, if you are truly "posh", for the course towards the end of your evening meal, when one might be served gateau, syllabub or fool? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In her studies for the book "Watching the English", what word did Kate Fox discover the English upper classes would use to describe an upholstered seat for two or more people? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. And, as reported in Kate Fox's "Watching the English", in which room of an English upper class house would you find a sofa or couch? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. According to social anthropologists, if you are of the English upper class would you be "wealthy" or "rich"?

Answer: (One Word - Wealthy or Rich)
Question 9 of 10
9. If you want to pass off as a truly posh English person you should never use the word "posh".


Question 10 of 10
10. Who popularised the phrase "U and non-U" to distinguish between upper class words and non upper class words? Hint



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Oct 29 2024 : Guest 89: 5/10
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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. According to Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", if someone speaks to you but you don't quite hear what they said, what is the correct English upper class response?

Answer: What?

The use of "Pardon" is the single greatest linguistic sin for the upper and upper-middle classes. It is considered far worse to say "pardon" than to be heard uttering a four-letter word.

Lower middle and middle middle classes will use pardon. Upper-middle say "Sorry?". Upper and working classes tend to say "What?"
2. What have Kate Fox's studies revealed as what the English upper classes would call the room which one visits to relieve oneself?

Answer: Lavatory

The correct upper class term is "loo" or "lavatory". Other euphemisms are sometimes used but are only considered acceptable when delivered with a sarcastic tone ("bog" for example). Working class, lower and middle are more likely to use toilet and also bog (though without the sarcasm).
3. Which word, according to Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", would an English upper class person use to describe a small piece of cloth used in wiping the lips and fingers and in protecting the clothes while eating; "serviette" or "napkin"?

Answer: Napkin

Napkin is the correct term. Serviette is a middle and lower class attempt to sound classier by using a French word. Apparently the word napkin was too close to nappy (the British English word for a diaper) for middle class sensibilities.
4. What, reports Kate Fox in her book "Watching the English", would an English upper class person call the meal one has in the middle of the day (or thereabouts)? And the one in the evening?

Answer: Lunch in the day, dinner in the evening

Dinner is the right word - but only if you are referring to the evening meal. The midday meal should be lunch. Dinner for the midday meal is irredeemably working class (although in my experience there is also a North/South divide with this). The upper classes may sometimes refer to the evening meal as supper though never tea, which is a late afternoon diversion served with scones.
5. And what word is revealed, in Kate Fox's "Watching the English", as the correct name, if you are truly "posh", for the course towards the end of your evening meal, when one might be served gateau, syllabub or fool?

Answer: Pudding

It's pudding for the upper and upper middle classes. Dessert is sometimes used by upper middles but afters and sweet very clearly put you "below stairs".

To an upper class person, dessert is a selection of fresh fruit served after the pudding.
6. In her studies for the book "Watching the English", what word did Kate Fox discover the English upper classes would use to describe an upholstered seat for two or more people?

Answer: Sofa

If you call it a settee or a couch you are at most middle middle class. It is deemed as accurate a class indicator as "pardon". Couch is becoming more acceptable higher up the class ladder thanks to American media influences but the accepted term for the uppers is sofa.
7. And, as reported in Kate Fox's "Watching the English", in which room of an English upper class house would you find a sofa or couch?

Answer: Drawing Room

The uppers call it a drawing room (short for withdrawing room) but if they have a smaller house than Blenheim Palace then this often seems overblown, so sitting room is often used instead. If you are not of the upper classes and call your item of furniture a settee, then you would place it in what you call your living room or lounge. Such a place would not exist in an upper class home.
8. According to social anthropologists, if you are of the English upper class would you be "wealthy" or "rich"?

Answer: Rich

Whilst many of the upper classes would now plead poverty, if they do have money then they are very definitely rich. Wealthy is how an aspirational middle class person would describe themselves.
9. If you want to pass off as a truly posh English person you should never use the word "posh".

Answer: True

The English upper classes would consider the correct word to use as "smart". Not even upper middles would deign to use the word "posh" - it is considered an irredeemably low class word.

The opposite of "smart" is the derisory "common" which is used to refer to people of lower classes.
10. Who popularised the phrase "U and non-U" to distinguish between upper class words and non upper class words?

Answer: Nancy Mitford

The concept of "U and non-U" English, with U standing for upper class, and non-U representing the aspiring middle classes, was introduced by Mitford in her essay "Noblesse oblige" in the magazine "Encounter" in 1955. The article caused a certain degree of uproar although Mitford meant it very much tongue in cheek.

The essay did not include working class usage because as we have seen, it can often match that of the upper class, only differing in terms of pronounciation.
Source: Author Snowman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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