Contextualizebeta

upper crust

noun

Etymology

First known use as an idiom: 1836.

Definitions

  1. The social elite, the highest social class.

    • I judged from your remark about the diligence and industry of the high Parisian upper crust that it would have some point.
    • Some accents reveal the distinctive bray of the upper crust, but most are generic middle class.

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see upper, crust. The topmost layer of a bread, pastry dish, or other item with a hardened coating.

    • She went to get her tarts . . . but some one had stolen all the fruit out of them by lifting up the upper crust.

  3. Alternative form of upper-crust.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for upper crust. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA