Uh...hmm. Depends on context I guess. Arrogance, aloofness, etc etc can be traits and/or signs but they don't guarantee anything.

Spending time making yourself look good isn't snobbery. Spending too long is vanity

Which I wouldn't know anything about

Tis a very broad thing to define...off the top of my head stubborness (of a certain kind), i.e. refusal to acknowledge anything when something or someone else is right/better/to be admired, merely to maintain some kind of front.

Took this from Dictionary.com...

1. One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as social inferiors and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as social superiors.

2. One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

I'd say they were very good definitions.

Wot Maff said.

Or rather (I assume) what the Webster Dictionary said. So anyone who believes they and their class/social group are inherently superior to all others.

Do I consider myself to be a snob? No and I sure hope I ain't.

Or am not. Take your pick…

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by Maffrew
2. One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

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by Jayjay
Do I consider myself to be a snob? No and I sure hope I ain't.

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Of course, the comments you made about people who read The Sun and The News Of The World, in the Newspaper thread, didn't fall under definition No. 2 above at all did it?


(Edited by Whistler 29/03/2002 17:21)

i'm not a snob i'm a rebel, snobs are posh people who look down on people and think they are it.

Well, I'd that a snob is a person who deliberately tries to make out that they are better than another person just by judging them on the superficial ie; the clothes they wear, the people they socialise with etc.

I really hope that I'm not a snob, although I will admit to making the kind of judgements that may make me a snob in some people's eyes.

Lets hope that my mates would say that I wasn't a snob

interesting thread.

Well I suppose that some people might put me into the snob-label box.

1. Private school. For some unknown reason people may think my school is posh. Hence the you-go-to-private-school-you-must-be-stuck-up brigade.
2. The fact that I like nice things-cosmetics that are from a department store rather than Superdrug. Designer clothes even though a lot of them are fake or vintage 'Posh' holidays.
3. My accent maybe?

It's a strange thing this snobbery business. So I do the above 3 things, get taxi's instead of buses (apart from in London where I love the tube!) go to a couple of balls, go shopping on a regular basis, try to be polite and friendly, read Vogue, Tatler etc

So I don't think I am a snob but I see why people would label other people as being stuck up/snobbish/posh due to misconceptions.

Someone who thinks they're better than everyone, and doesn't mind telling people they think that

I hate snobs! You don't really get many round here though

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by Maffrew
2. One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

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by Whistler
Of course, the comments you made about people who read The Sun and The News Of The World, in the Newspaper thread, didn't fall under definition No. 2 above at all did it?

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No, it didn't.

Jayjay stated facts about the News of the World's journalistic practices.

He then inferred that to buy the newspaper must be to endorse (or at least not to actively oppose) such practices.

In a predominantly capitalist system, the way you spend your money is one of the key powers available to you.

As far as the definition is concerned, kind of subjective I would have thought.

Firstly, you'd have to believe someone was affecting their views rather than truly holding them (NB - I get the impression Jayjay holds his and wasn't putting it on).

Then you'd have to be offended by their 'air of self-satisfied superiority'. I keep rereading this and still can't work out exactly what that is supposed to mean.

Personally, I'd have thought that the word snob best desribes someone whose approach towards people is based on their background rather than their actions. This works perfectly well regardless of the 'class' of the individual in question (snobbery is hardly exclusive to the rich and/or high bred).

In my experience, people will often use snobbery as an accusation to undermine the opinion of someone perceived as having some unfair advantage (a better education for example).

I stand by what I posted, thank you

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by Maffrew
Took this from Dictionary.com...

1. One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as social inferiors and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as social superiors.

2. One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of taste or intellect.

I'd say they were very good definitions.

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I think that is an excellent definition, Maff

So, what else do people think constitutes snobbery?

I've always just percieved snobbery as looking down your nose at someone else ... basicaly thinking that your better than them in some way. Do you think maybe we are all guilty of doing that, just in a lesser or greater degree?

Barbara - Anyone who calls you a snob for those reasons alone are snobs themselves.


(Edited by Yally 30/03/2002 18:29)

My interpretation of a "snob" is someone who thinks they are better that you, look down their noses at you, and basically wouldn't give you the time of day.

The worst ones are business people who worked their way up to the top of the career ladder and forget their roots and where they came from!

Personally I can't stand them and have told a few that

"Reverse snobbery" is just as distasteful as the more conventional type. There are plenty of people who who are bigoted against people from wealthy or otherwise privilleged backgrounds.