A little P O S H

English as a Second Language What do you want to talk about?
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P O S H

Port out, starboard home.

anglophone, noun, someone who speaks English — eg, Troy’s friend Joshua, who has just come back from the UK, is both an anglophile and an anglophone

arcipluvian, adjective, many-coloured, like a rainbow — eg, Debbie proudly displays her arcipluvian flag to support gay rights

cachinnate, verb, to laugh loudly or too much — eg, When Denise and Jenny get together, you can bet they will start cachinnating at any time

circumfuse, verb, to pour, diffuse, or spread around or about anything; surround or envelop as a fluid; to bathe — eg, When his friends circumfuse Troy with so much love, he gets a bit teary-eyed

commensal, noun, one of a company who eat at the same table, a mess-mate — eg, Catherine, Jones, and Dylbert are Troy’s most common commensals at the local Chinese restaurant

encephalalgia, noun, headache (see also Improve Your Vocabulary: Medical Jargon) — eg, not even Troy’s offer of a neck and head massage could relieve Catherine’s encephalalgia

enchiridion, noun, a handbook or manual; a concise treatise serving as a guide or for reference — eg, Denise and Troy have written a brilliant enchiridion of alternative definitions and are just waiting for the right publisher to recognise how splendid their new book is

eumorphous, adjective, well-shaped — eg, With his trim physique and slender long lines, Troy’s friend Chris is certainly very eumorphous

exoptable, adjective, to be desired or wished — eg, Chris is so eumorphous that he is one of the most exoptable people on Facebook

gerontocomium, noun, old men’s home — eg, Unfortunately, Troy will be a long time in the gerontocomium before Chris becomes available

halieutics, noun, the art or practice of fishing — eg, Jones is an expert at halieutics yet he still won’t venture out into the sea to go fishing

hebdomadal, adjective, weekly — eg, Troy dreads his hebdomadal outings to Church; they make him feel stabby

laevorotatory, adjective, rotating to the left; counter-clockwise — eg, Wendy has a new frottage technique, involving laevorotatory caresses around the nipples

languescent, adjective, growing faint, weak, or tired — eg, Compiling this list is taking so long that Troy has become too languescent to go out with Catherine

mendaciloquent, adjective, untruthful in speech; speaking lies — eg, If Debbie tells you Troy has stolen all her ideas, you will know she is being mendaciloquent

natatorium, noun, a swimming pool, especially an indoor one; a complex containing one or more such pools; an area of a sea, lake, etc, suitable for swimming — eg, Everyday, Troy’s dad goes to the Belconnen natatorium. Goodness knows what germs he gets from sharing the same water as hundreds of other people! Thank goodness for chlorine.

nuncheon, noun, a drink taken in the afternoon; a light refreshment between meals; a snack — eg, As soon as Troy finishes this list, he will partake in a nuncheon so he feels less languescent

obambulate, verb, to walk about; to wander here and there — eg, Troy has been so busy working on this list that he hasn’t had time to obambulate around Mount Rogers, where he usually takes his daily walk

oneirodynia, noun, disturbed sleep, including that in which nightmares and sleepwalking occur — eg, Debbie told Troy about the oneirodynia she experienced last night, involving a strange dream between Troy and his brother

osophagist, noun, a fastidious eater — eg, Because of Troy’s gall stones, he has become quite the osophagist, which caused his commensals to cachinnate around the dinner table the other night

refocillation, noun, refreshment, reanimation, reinvigoration — eg, Troy hopes his nuncheon will help achieve refocillation by this evening

supernaculum, noun, a liquor to be drunk to the last drop; a wine of the highest quality; hence, anything excellent of its kind — eg, Andrew and Jess drink so much that they know all the supernaculums

tardigrade, noun, a person or thing that moves slowly — eg, Troy is so languescent that he is more tardigrade than his pet turtle on land

tiffin, verb and noun, to lunch, or any light meal — eg, Yay! Troy has only one more word to go before he can tiffin on his nuncheon

xenodochium, noun, a hostel, guest-house, especially in a monastery — eg, When Dylbert and Troy go to New York, they will be staying in a quality hotel, not some xenodochium ( Ref. English Language Skills. com )

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Go a little posh?

( Ref. To the Manor Born )

Posh adjectives
actively nasty
appalling
awful
basic (a bit basic: unluxurious flat/house)
copious
dire
dispiriting
drahstic (rather drahstic)
exiguous (it means small)
frightful
ghastly
ghastly (how perfectly ghastly)
grim
grisly
gruesome
hideous
horrid
immense
poky (too small or shabby flat/house)
simply dreadful
sordid (dirty, or finding dogbowl near cooker)
squalid (tatty surroundings)
sundry
various

Words for children
sproglet
ankle-biter
piglet

Adverbs
absolutely
actually
astonishingly (quite astonishingly horrid)
awfully
drastically
dreadfully
excessively
frightfully
generally
horribly
immoderately
inordinately
intensely
outrageously
overwhelmingly
seriously
staggeringly (nasty)
terribly
unduly
usually
virtually
unremittingly

In Rangoon these days we have more and more newly rich Junglies, so I’d better be a little bit more poshish than yesterday. Oh just a style? Just to be a little different from them. Ah ha ha.

Coz I’m an old poshish Junglie.

They say no style, no star. Very convincing, eh?

Have posh and fun!

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Posh people don’t use modern slang. They don’t really notice fashion, and ignore popular culture. And they’re very (surprise, surprise) conservative, so their language doesn’t change very much. They’re fond of archaisms like whereby, thus, therefore and hence.

But they also go in for baby talk:

It was awfully expenny, I’ll do a recce, have a dekko, a bit iffy, Seen my piccies? Was it a Chrissy pressy? Mind you don’t get wetty! See you soonsies!

( Ref. To the Manor Born )

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In Burma if you use fork and spoon you are posh. ( I wear tie and eat with fork and spoon since I could walk, am I poshish then? )

( My pop, a doctor, cuts corpsed and touched all types of filthy dirty patients then. So we use fork and spoon doused with boiling water. And drink boiled water only. ) My pop is almost 80 and mop is around 75 now. Spritely as ever, and so alive and so kicking. Lovely to see them living longer than their contemporaries who bit dust and kicked the buckets.

If you use only fork when you are eating you are the poshiest posher posh. Cool.

I learnt eating only with a fork from my Londoners, British teachers Jacky, Sue and Paul in 1982.

Oh, just for a style I love eating only with a fork.

In Rangoon if you eat only with a fork, they’ll think you’re a Martian and stare at you a lot.

Oh, be careful not to poke your tongue and rip your lips with a fork to go posh.

Lol.

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Want to lean a crash course ‘How to eat Rice and Curry only with a fork’ in seven and a half days.

Enrol now. Kyaw the Posh Trainer, at mobile 007007007.

12 trianees per class only. Fees $ 30 per hour. Meals with fragrant rice and well done chicken provided.

First 120 students will be provided with lamb chops and dahl ( pigeon pea ) soup as well.

No cheating, you’ll go posh without damaging your upper orifice.

Have fun!

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In Western society eating with only a fork is common, rather than posh.
Only desserts would be eaten with a fork and spoon.
Savoury meals should be eaten with a knife and fork, and if you wish to be posh, you should ensure you have the correct type and size of cutlery to match the meal you are eating. Also, of course, you need the correct size glass and plate or bowl, which is why ‘posh’ tables are lden with so many items.

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When I was a child my mother had great problem to persuade me of eating anything.

So, of course there was no option to eat using a knife.

One day I was invited to my aunt family, for a dinner. All children at the table were eating dinner using their cutleries.

I didn’t know what to do with my knife.

I felt humiliated and I cried bitterly.

Now I got more self-confident, if I don’t know how to behave-I have no problem to eat even with my fingers.( I mean e.g. leg of chicken).

But I see this topic and all tips in it very useful.

Alicja:))

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Interesting dictionary on page 1, dear Kyaw!
And here’s my newest phrase, very much inspired from it.
You can observe the effect on my brain – the presence of an obsessive element !?

He has a large natatorium in his huge gerontocomium and, the eumorphous he is, he does hebdomadal swimming, followed by hebdomadal extraordinary nuncheon which prevents him from hebdomadal post-swimming-languescent estate and helps him be the most exoptable old man in this unpopulated island, despite his hebdomadal oneirodynia which makes him extremely hateful and dull.

Is it clear enough? I think it’s the clearest English ever.
Monica

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They all look so Greek to me Monica.

They make me nauseated just looking at them.

Have fun!

Perhaps I’ll go back to the Jungle. I me my and mine.

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Thank you Bee.

I can still remember one Burmese Junglie uses soup spoon to eat rice at a state banquet. Oh dear

No, no, no, not me.

I’m a poshishest Burmese Junglie. I know what is what and who is who’ my mother trained me very very well.

And one of my stubborn hobbies is curiosity. Curiosity always pays.

Have fun.

Note. No thank you for deterring my crash course.

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Now talking about wearing ties.

Here in Burma, newly rich Junglies are wearing ready to wear ties, you know?, the ones already knotted.

They think they can buy everything with money.

And they don’t know how to take them off.

Ah ha ha ha.

Oh, I me my and mine.

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Very good writing my dear Alicja the first.

I saw me in your writing. An annoying thing.

Have fun!

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Oh! Thank you. It was nice of you.

Alicja:))

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Thank you for your kind supports too.

lvvja.

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Dear Mr. Kyaw,

You wrote to me:

I believe to you that there are posh words. But I believe better that there are POSH persons, Posh events, Posh marriage, Posh Hotels etc.

One word can be in a context authentic and in another context same word becomes POSH. Lot of writers described posh persons who act like they are from a rich background. They dress as the upper-class, speak like wealthy people.A POSH can be a dandy.If posh is an adjective for example we speak about his/her clothes they are elegant, stylishly luxurious, fashionable and expensive in a way that is intended to impress people. They are swanky than Watteau: The casual lover (L’indiferrent fr.)

Best regards:
Kati

P.s: You can write with these words a novel about a posh person/event/ marriage etc.
P.s/2: I think that the rococo period - when Antoine Watteau lived and he painted this painting the Wikipedia writes: “The Rococo additionally played an important role in theatre. In the book The Rococo, it is written that there was no other culture which “has produced a wittier, more elegant, and teasing dialogue full of elusive and camouflaging language and gestures, refined feelings and subtle criticism” than Rococo theatre, especially that of France.” I would call a posh period in the rococo theatre.

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Hello Mr. Kyaw,

Yesterday after answering Bez’s letter I felt that my example led me closer what I think about posh world. This morning without reading my answer to you I would like to stress that Antoine Watteau was an excellent artist who could portray the rococo world which could be a posh world. The English Thomas Gainsborough also tried to paint paintings about this period but he ran a mile from this world when he began to paint landscapes.
Antoine Watteau or Thomas Gainsborough were not posh painters they could judge and portray this rococo world in which they lived. They were truly giant artists.Wikipedia says: " Gainsborough moved to London in 1774, and painted portraits of the King and Queen, but the King was obliged to name as royal painter Gainsborough’s rival Joshua Reynolds." I don’t know its reason but I think that his portrait were not flattering. He could be unable to flatter, he could portray what he had seen and known.
Mr and Mrs William Hallett.

Regards:
Kati Svaby

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Hello Bez,

Difference between Hungary and the UK that these illustrations are sillabuses which have been taught in the school. It is not compulsory to set the table in this way but there are occasions (for example: a wedding lunch) when they look up these illustrations and copy it to know how they have to set the table. I found this illustration, the English one is better arranged but here this is beside the point.

Regards:
Kati

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I liked your vocabulary suggestions for posh English; very thorough. I have some words to add to your list which are specifically posh: loo, napkin, sofa, drawing room and sitting room. Never say couch!

More examples of upper class speech at the link below.

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