Is there a word for a person who's not classy?

[alpacinou]

Is there a word for a person who's not classy and doesn't know how to dress and behave in social situations?

 

[5jj]

5jj?

 

[Skrej]

'Gauche' or 'uncouth', possibly, as well as 'uncultured'. None of those directly refer to manner of dress, however.

 

[alpacinou]

'Gauche' or 'uncouth', possibly, as well as 'uncultured'. None of those directly refer to manner of dress, however.

I thought about "uncultured" but this is how my dictionary defines it:

If you describe someone as uncultured, you are critical of them because they do not seem to know much about art, literature, and other cultural topics.

 

[jutfrank]

I can think of several words. How derogatory do you want the word to be?

How do you wish to use this word?

 

[alpacinou]

I can think of several words. How derogatory do you want the word to be?

How do you wish to use this word?

Do share all of them please. I promise I'll use them responsibly.

 

[Amigos4]

You can find a list of antonyms for "classy" here.

 

[Skrej]

Again not specific to dress, but meaning boring or unimaginative is 'pedestrian' in the sense of definition #1. You could talk about someone's pedestrian clothing or attire.

 

[alpacinou]

Imagine you're staying in a hotel. There are some people there who are very loud, disrespectful and wearing trashy clothes. They behave as if it's their first time in a fancy hotel.

What word would you use to describe them?

 

[5jj]

There is no single word or expression for such people. Any expressions most of us ues may well contain some elements of our own social prejudices; your 'trashy clothes' does, as does your observation that it their first time in a fancy hotel.

If I wished to refer to people who offended my sensibilities in some way, I might pick on one fault that particularly irked me, referring to that loud group/mob/family for example.

I have heard people who feel that their socio-economic class makes them better than others refer to fellow guests from a lower class as the peasants, proles, hoi polloi, great unwashed and, very dated, NQTD (not quite top drawer).

 

[tedmc]

obnoxious

Imagine you're staying in a hotel. There are some people there who are very loud, disrespectful and wearing trashy clothes. They behave as if it's their first time in a fancy hotel.

What word would you use to describe them?

obnoxious

 

[alpacinou]

In my language we just say a word that literally translates to "classless." In English classless is used to refer to a society that is not affected by social status.

 

[tedmc]

In my language we just say a word that literally translates to "classless." In English classless is used to refer to a society that is not affected by social status.

egalitarian

 

[alpacinou]

egalitarian

Absolutely not what I'm looking for.

 

[tedmc]

Absolutely not what I'm looking for.

It is the word for "classless society" you have described.

 

[probus]

In AmE they are sometimes called "hicks and rubes". Those two terms are almost always used in tandem, but to be frank I don't know what distinguishes a hick from a rube. Maybe a rube is less rural?

In the American south both hicks and rubes may be lumped together as rednecks.

 

[Skrej]

It is the word for "classless society" you have described.

You're confusing the terms for social class (definitions 2A and 2B) with elegance (definition 2C) and the adjective classy, which are quite different and not necessarily related.

Alpacinou is correct in that 'egalitarian' is not what he/she is looking for. It applies only to 2A and 2B, while the question is about 2C (i.e. 'classy').

 

[5jj]

If it's just the matter of the people concerned being not of the right social class, 'vulgar' might work. John le Carré wrote of Rode, a character in A Murder of Quality:

If it is vulgar to wear a pen in the breast pocket of your jacket, to favour Fair Isle pullovers and brown ties, to bob a little and turn your feet out as you walk; the Rhode beyond a shadow of doubt was vulgar ...

These sins are not as gross as those mentioned in earlier posts., but they do sum up someone who is 'not quite one of us'.

(Off topic: The sins do not actually have to be observable. Le Carré continues:

...for though he did not now commit these sins, his manner implied them all.

Brilliant!!)

 

[tedmc]

You're confusing the terms for social class (definitions 2A and 2B) with elegance (definition 2C) and the adjective classy, which are quite different and not necessarily related.

Alpacinou is correct in that 'egalitarian' is not what he/she is looking for. It applies only to 2A and 2B, while the question is about 2C (i.e. 'classy').

Do you mean to say that a "classless society" could mean one which lacks elegance? I don't think 2C meaning of "class" applies to "classless society". "Unsophisticated/uncultured society" perhaps.

It's like calling someone who has no class/taste for clothing, fashion, etc as "classless".

 

[Skrej]

Do you mean to say that a "classless society" could mean one which lacks elegance?

No, that's not what I said at all.

I don't think 2C meaning of "class" applies to "classless society". "Unsophisticated/uncultured society" perhaps.

You're correct, it doesn't, nor did I say it did. 2c refers to elegance or tastefulness not a social strata. It is not related to 2A or 2B. That's my point - your suggestion of 'egalitarianism' is referring to the issue of social status. The OP is referring to the issue of good taste, elegance, etc. The two are separate things.

It's like calling someone who has no class/taste for clothing, fashion, etc as "classless".

You can, and we do. However, we're not referring to their lack of social rank, just their lack of good taste or elegance in manners, dress, etc.

John wears flip flops and shorts to a fancy restaurant, belches loudly in front of others, snaps his fingers and yells loudly for the server. You could certainly call him classless, regardless if he's a low-life street thug or the scion of a rich and powerful political dynasty.