We have already gone beyond whatever we have words for. In all talk there is a grain of contempt.
…the differences between “U” (Upper-class) and “non-U” (Middle Class) usages […]
The genteel offer ale rather than beer; invite one to step (not come) this way; and assist (never help) one another to potatoes. […]
When Prince William and Kate Middleton split up in 2007 the press blamed it on Kate’s mother’s linguistic gaffes at Buckingham Palace, where she reputedly responded to the Queen’s How do you do? with the decidedly non-U Pleased to meet you (the correct response being How do you do?), and proceeded to ask to use the toilet (instead of the U lavatory).
