An expert in high society has revealed the phrases to add to your vocabulary if you want to appear more ‘upper class’ and ‘Old Money’.
The Instagram account Refine Society, run by influencer Lotti, who splits her time between Hamburg and London, specialises in sharing ‘quiet luxury’ tips and ‘high society secrets’.
In a recent post, the content creator shared several Old Money terms, writing: ‘Ever notice how the upper class never quite say things the way everyone else does?
‘It’s the phrases, the little codes that quietly signal you’re part of the club,’ added the influencer, before sharing the tell-tale signs that announce to the world whether a wealthy individual is a blue-blooded aristocrat or nouveau riche.
For those struggling to tell whether the millionaire next door is a self-made man – or if he was born into money – these expressions will apparently single out the latter from the former.
Discussing introductions first, the social media post detailed that terms such as ‘nice to meet you’ and ‘come with us’ would never be used.
Instead, Old Money individuals would say ‘how do you do?’ and ‘do join us’, while ‘may I present’ would be used for introducing someone and ‘I’ll leave you in good hands’ would be a well-mannered departure from a group.
Meanwhile, many people would describe someone they enjoy spending company with as someone they ‘love’ – but the influencer explained that in high society, a person was ‘fond’ of that individual.
The upper class also wouldn’t label someone ‘popular’, they would instead describe them as ‘a great favourite’.
Elsewhere, the post discussed dining etiquette, revealing how an exact time for dinner would always be stated, rather than ‘around eight pm’.
Then, when the food was ready, a host would have said ‘the table is laid’ and used the question ‘shall we?’ to encourage their guests to move to the dining room if they were initially located elsewhere in the house.
Moving on to ‘everyday politeness’, the Refine Society page warned that if a person wanted to appear as ‘upper class’ they should never say ‘what’. Instead, ‘I beg your pardon’ is preferred.
‘Sorry’ was another simple phrase seemingly banned, with those from Old Money alternatively saying ‘do forgive me’.
Another everyday term that blue-blooded aristocrats are said to avoid is ‘thank you’, as they would rather say ‘much obliged’ or ‘most kind of you’.
‘We go on holiday to’ was also noted to be a rather common way of explaining where you vacation, with the post suggesting that viewers swap out the phrase with ‘we summer in’.
Meanwhile, it’s never ‘just a show’ for wealthy individuals – they’ll say exactly where they are going instead, such as the opera or the ballet.
Plus if you have an enviable collection of wines or art or books, you should never say ‘you’re into’ but rather ‘you collect’ the items.
Finally, the post – which received more than 11,000 likes when first shared last month – discussed how Old Money individuals would tackle the topic of wealth.
It explained that ‘comfortable’ was the word used by aristocrats, rather than rich or wealthy, or ‘they’ve done rather well’ would perfectly describe someone’s success.
Lotti’s Instagram page, which boasts around 54,000 followers, tells its fans that ‘if you’re curious about what really happens behind the closed doors of high society, @refinesociety is your space’.
