upper crust
See also: upper-crust
English
Etymology
First known use as an idiom: 1836.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
upper crust (plural upper crusts)
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see upper, crust. The topmost layer of a bread, pastry dish, or other item with a hardened coating.
- 1871, Louisa May Alcott, Little Men, ch. 20:
- She went to get her tarts . . . but some one had stolen all the fruit out of them by lifting up the upper crust.
- 1871, Louisa May Alcott, Little Men, ch. 20:
- (idiomatic, usually with the) The social elite, the highest social class.
- Synonyms: upper class, the quality, the Quality
- 1894, Mark Twain, "A Little Note to M. Paul Bourget" in Essays on Paul Bourget:
- I judged from your remark about the diligence and industry of the high Parisian upper crust that it would have some point.
- 2006 June 18, J. F. O. McAllister, "A New Kind of Elite," Time:
- Some accents reveal the distinctive bray of the upper crust, but most are generic middle class.
Derived terms
Adjective
upper crust (comparative more upper crust, superlative most upper crust)
- Alternative form of upper-crust
References
- ^ “upper crust”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.