13 words to avoid if you want to sound posh

Apparently, there are words that royal family just don’t use, according to social anthropologist Kate Fox.

She tells Diply that these are the words to avoid if you don’t want to be caught out as a mere commoner:

1. Toilet

This word is hated for its French origins, and the royals prefer to say “loo” or “lavatory”. Also avoid “ladies,” “gents,” “powder room” and “bathroom”.

2. Refreshment

Royal events have “food and drink,” never refreshments.

3. Serviette

Never refer to a napkin as a “serviette,” which is used by those darned middle class types.

4. Posh

Royals say “smart” instead of “posh,” which is only spoken in a joking manner, knowing it’s a lower-class word.

5. Patio

You might have a “patio,” but the royals have “terraces”.

6. Dessert

Do not call it “dessert” or any derivative of; it’s called “pudding”.

7. Portions

You might have a “portion” of food, you commoner, you. The royals, on the other hand, have “helpings”.

8. Tea or dinner

The evening meal is always referred to as “supper”. “Dinner” is only ever used to refer to a formal occasion (never “dinner party”).

9. Perfume

A royal wouldn’t be caught dead in perfume. Refer to it as “scent” or don’t bother wearing it at all.

10. Mum and dad

Royal children say “mummy and daddy”. Even then-64-year-old Prince Charles was no exception to this rule when addressing the Queen at her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

11. Pardon

"Pardon", Fox says, is derived from the French language, and to utter it is looked down upon as an attempt by the retched middle class to sound posher. Royals, she says, prefer “sorry” and “what,” preferably both used together.

12. Function

It’s not a “function”, or a “do,” it’s a “party”.

13. Living room/lounge

Royals refer to it as the “drawing room,” or “sitting room” at a push.

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