| gen. |
светское общество (nosorog); высшие слои (nosorog); общество культурных / воспитанных людей (Tracer); свет (высший); изысканное общество; приличное общество (Азери); культурные круги (often humorous. used for talking about people of a high social class, usually suggesting that they pretend that things they consider to be unpleasant do not exist. MED. 1. The elite or upper crust of society. 1803, Maria Edgeworth, "The Manufacturers": [H]e had been brought up in an extravagant family, who considered tradesmen and manufacturers as a caste disgraceful to polite society. 2. That portion of society that is especially concerned with etiquette, proper behavior, and politeness. 1892, F. Marion Crawford, Pietro Ghisleri, ch. 14: [S]he managed with considerable effort to keep up a sufficient outward semblance of mourning to satisfy the customs and fashions of polite society. WT Alexander Demidov) |
