Re: I want a word
According to Merriam-Webster, "gadabout" was first noted in 1837--is that close enough?
View ArticleRe: Trust someone whose name is Marks to be on target
This is a good point. Your general point about snobbishness is one I had noticed; it really hit home for me when I realized that in the works of Jane Austen, the word "condescend" was used in a...
View ArticleRe: I want a word
Hmm, it's a good word. I like it. Twenty some-odd years too late, but I might fudge it. Words are about before they're first noticed, after all.
View ArticleRe: I want a word
Mondaine or demimondaine would be just what I want. It does seem to have been much more a Victorian word, though, and to have later acquired an unfortunate meaning of "courtesan." I may use it anyway;...
View ArticleA double negative might be the way
I can understand you would prefer a single word to convey your meaning, and certainly there is no better place to discuss possibilities than here. But if you want to have people understand you rather...
View Articlesnob
My understanding is that "snob" originally mean someone of lower class aping the behavior of the upper classes, which means that, in some fanfic, Miss Bingley is a snob. I know that people now...
View ArticleLady Catherine in canon
She might be a pain in P&P, but she does walk the talk. Lots of patrons didn't do nearly as much for their rectors as she does for Mr Collins. I'm as guilty as anyone of making her ridiculous in...
View ArticleRe: I want a word
I only know a subset of what's in Wikipedia. The word apparently comes from the title of a comedy by Alexandre Dumas (the son), so it would be fairly difficult for that to be in circulation before the...
View ArticleRe: A double negative might be the way
Mari, that is extremely sensible. I would like the neat "Did you think I was an X? I am not" sort of speech, but contextualizing it is going to be the better move. I would like a short, tidy little...
View ArticleRe: snob
Harvey S. Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> My understanding is that "snob" originally mean> someone of lower class aping the behavior of the> upper classes,...
View ArticleYou cannot use Caroline Bingley as the poster girl for a snob
Fanfiction flights of fancy notwithstanding, Caroline Bingley knew better than to give herself with airs with Darcy. That time when she overstepped her boundaries with him, he pretty quickly snapped...
View ArticleWhat happens to a young lady if the man she is betrothed to dies before they...
If the settlement papers have already been signed, and the wedding is drawing close, what happens to the young woman if her betrothed suddenly dies? I understand she would go into mourning, but would...
View ArticleRe: What happens to a young lady if the man she is betrothed to dies before...
I think the settlement is supposed to cover that contingency, so one could imagine any type of scenario, depending on the wealth and generosity of the groom.
View ArticleRe: What happens to a young lady if the man she is betrothed to dies before...
I don't really know, but I wouldn't think so. I mean, marriage settlements were essentially a contract between two people (or between one person and the other's guardian/representative), and...
View ArticleRe: What happens to a young lady if the man she is betrothed to dies before...
That makes a lot of sense. Afterall, someone cannot be expected to uphold his end of a contract from the grave. Though other sorts of debts would be expected to be paid out from the estate, since they...
View ArticleRe: What happens to a young lady if the man she is betrothed to dies before...
I know that settlements cover a wide range of contingencies, but I had never thought about them containing a contingency based on the death of one of the people involved before the ceremony takes place.
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