Snobbery - what is it and how to define a snob? What is Snobbery? What does snob mean.

In different eras, this term had its own specific meaning, but it always had a negative emotional connotation. Today they say about such a person: "From rags to riches." So who is a snob - read in this article.

Who is a snob and what is snobbery?

There are several versions of the origin of this word:

1. For the first time, mentions of him are found in the historical literature of 1775-1875. So they called the shoemaker or the shoemaker's apprentice. In the future, it acquired a general meaning and spread to all people of a low class, and later to those who hid their origin and tried with all their might to be like an aristocrat, imitated the speech and manners of the nobility.
2. Another version says that the word has an older origin and is translated from the Latin abbreviation "s.nob." means "of ignoble origin".
3. According to the third version, the term has completely different, English roots. The fact is that at the dawn of the 19th century, a limited number of students of the lower class studied at Eton University. They competed with the aristocrats, but were powerless against the system. It was from the opposition of commoners to representatives of the highest nobility that the word snob was born.

Those who are interested in what a snob means can be answered that this is a person who admires high society, imitates its manners and tastes, and by hook or by crook strives to get there. He can claim the right to be in any area, for example, an intellectual snob considers himself smarter and smarter, even wiser than others, and at the same time despises and arrogantly treats those who, in his opinion, do not reach this level. The word is found in many languages ​​​​of the world and it was from it that the term “snobbery” originated, which in the outdated sense characterized the desire and desire of a person to keep up with fashion, constantly adhere to the manners of the “high society” and the aristocratic circle.

The modern meaning of the word snob

Today, the boundaries between classes are more blurred and one can become part of the “chosen ones” with a lot of money, connections or a good education. Therefore, those who are wondering what it means - a snob, can be answered that we are talking about a certain stratum of society, which, according to one or another indicator, considers itself "elite" and opposes itself to all other certain ones, which include clothing style, behavior, manner of bearing and speaking. This helps them emphasize their own importance and originality. Emphasizing their belonging to such a group, its members betray their own snobbery.

Behavior of a typical snob

1. Their behavior, manners and way of expressing their emotions not only become the hallmark of such an affiliation, but also an opportunity to express their contempt for everyone else, to point them to "their place".
2. They consider themselves superior to others, and all others unworthy, miserable and insignificant, not realizing that they themselves are such. A highly spiritual person will never boast of his spirituality, just as a highly educated and intelligent person will never boast of his mind. These same people simply claim to be educated and intellectual, although in reality they are not.
3. They surround themselves with objects of art and cultural values, attend vernissages and exhibitions, wanting to appear, but not to be.
4. Their taste and sophistication of manners cause people only laughter and pity. Such a striking example are many show business stars who love to shock the public, impersonate those who they really are not.
5. They are dissolute and arrogant, they strive to have everything at once and now, not wanting to make any special efforts for this.

It is impossible to understand what snobbery is without considering the word "snob" in detail. Once it meant only those who imitated representatives of the noble classes, but themselves belonged to the lower of them. In the past, the stratification of society was especially noticeable, although, of course, it is still present to a large extent today. Snobs are precisely those who wanted to seep into the high society by any means.

In the future, the "snob" expanded somewhat. So they began to call those who imitated the aristocrats in manners and behavior, and showed arrogance towards their equals. This is the kind of person for whom it is important to seem like someone especially intelligent, even if he is not. The snob has big claims, but at the same time, negligible potential.

Snobbery

Snobbery, as a rule, is understood as a deliberate demonstration of one's significance, an emphasized manifestation of one's own manners. Simulated and deliberate sophistication, which is noticeable in everything: how a person dresses, how he holds a tea cup, behaves at the table,. A snob can be well educated, but don't expect pleasant conversation from him if he decides that you are no match for him. Snobbery is the lack of the ability to communicate with all people equally, it is the ranking of others and the appropriate treatment of them.

If you meet a snob who is acting disparagingly towards you, try to just ignore him. Explaining something to him is extremely difficult, and getting upset is not the most reasonable solution. Think of it as bad weather. You don't get mad at rain or snow. Hold on with dignity, do not allow yourself to be insulted, but you should not use the "weapon" of the enemy.

From the point of view of etiquette, snobbery is a violation of decorum and bad taste. Worthy and sane people are able to behave adequately. They, as a rule, are easy to communicate with both superiors and subordinates, and do not divide others into worthy and unworthy of their attention.

The word "snobbery" has always had a negative connotation, but in the modern world the situation has changed somewhat. Although its meaning has remained the same, the word itself is used with some sarcasm, and there are quite a few people who are happy to call themselves snobs. There is even a periodical "Snob".

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Snobbery is a concept that represents the thoughts and actions characteristic of a snob. Snobbery is, in simple words, excessive arrogance and pride in one's exclusive position (actual, ideal or claimed), which implies admiration for the way and manners that are a reflection of a person's own aspirations. This concept can reflect the high intellectuality of a person, his exceptionally refined taste, well-deserved authority and respect in certain circles, but with the amendment that he will tell about all these achievements himself, and not wait until others notice it.

Snobbery always betrays a person's inconsistency with a particular way of life or society. So wealthy merchants, who surpassed the intelligentsia in their wealth, could easily buy a place among these people. After that, elements of snobbery began to slip in their behavior more and more clearly in attempts to imitate the behavior and manners of secular and educated people, for which there were neither prerequisites, nor sufficient education, nor upbringing. The desire to compensate for the missing skills with a proud appearance, excessive luxury, big expenses, cheeky behavior and other elements that are not directly related to the manifestation of a person's level are elements of snobbery.

The meaning of the word snobbery was adjusted depending on the era, but the emotional coloring of this personal quality always remained negative. It is always a desire to keep up with the level that a person objectively does not correspond to, and he tries to do this at the expense of external tinsel, and not work on his own personality.

Who is a snob

A snob is a person who belongs to one of the privileged social circles. At the same time, in the context of building a modern society, the boundaries of various levels are becoming more and more blurred, and you can get into one of the circles of the elite without having any money, education, or connections. That is, a snob can feel his pride, being in any social stratum that considers himself an elite, while objectivity is not important for self-perception of being superior to other people.

The snob manifests itself in emphasizing the qualities and behaviors recognized in the selected group. This can be achieved by excessively demonstrative behavior, appropriate clothing and style of conversation. All the brightness of this opposition is intended to emphasize the uniqueness of a person and the eliteness of the group to which he belongs, while the significance of other people's opinions and achievements is assessed as too petty or unworthy.

And snobbery is not synonymous, here the concept of contempt for the rest, not belonging to the class of the chosen people, is closer. He can allow himself unflattering comments, tell people what to do and in every possible way speak negatively about their worldview.

Snobs always talk about their achievements and high traits, which is important, a really modest person will not talk about his modesty, but a spiritual person will reproach others for the lack of spirituality. While such speeches are quite acceptable to a snob, and he will not even think about what the contradiction is. The line of behavior is always demonstrative, bordering on shocking, and if a person considers himself to be among the elite of show business, then the level of shocking can reach those limits where it is already perceived as something ridiculous. Attempts to portray refined taste and refined manners seem organic only to the snob himself, while for people who understand such games they look as implausible as diamonds sold on the market.

It is typical for snobs to visit exhibitions and concerts, various cultural or lounge events to emphasize their uniqueness. The value is not so much the importance of what is happening as art, but how closed the exhibition will be - and the fewer nominal invitations, the greater the desire of the snob to get there, regardless of their preferences.

All imitation of the tastes of the chosen society is blind, and being alone with yourself or in the company of other people who do not belong to the chosen society, the snob is lost, does not know what line of behavior to choose or what to tell about himself to others. The exclusivity of activities is important to him only while others are around, but he will not do this in his spare time for pleasure. Often this is how high-profile scandals arise with famous personalities who were accidentally noticed in an inappropriate place or in an unworthy occupation in relation to the image that they carefully created.

The importance of feeling your life fades into the background, as well as the search for your true purpose. For a snob, the main thing is to create a favorable external image and carefully maintain it - happiness, confidence, well-being are also not so much sensual categories as moments of complementing the necessary image. As a result, imitation selects individuality and the possibility of creative manifestation of oneself as a person.

Against the background of the hypervalue of one's own image and the selected group, humiliating behavior and statements about other people and concepts become characteristic. It is not always possible to show one's superiority, only by playing a role well, especially with a lack of objective qualities, therefore snobs often try to rise at the expense of humiliating others, reducing their significance and beauty. So when it is not possible to write a project better than someone else, the snob will most likely choose the tactics of discrediting a person by his intellectual level, no matter how true these conclusions are.

It is important that deep down or in the evening, removing all the masks, a person is still aware of his worthlessness, or at least inconsistency with reality. Under favorable conditions and the firmness of the internal foundations, it is possible to admit this to yourself for a long time, connect others and really engage in self-development. In most cases, this is only a momentary weakness, after which the number of caustic mockery of others increases.

Examples of snobbery

Examples of snobbery are all demonstrative actions and acquisitions, the meaning of which is emphasized. It can be a really expensive house, a plane, a car, necessary for a person so that others understand his merits on a professional path, guess about his intellect and capabilities. But this does not mean that all large purchases will talk about this quality, where there are more cases of buying fakes and counterfeit goods in order to create the appearance of conformity with the circle where the person is.

Remembering that the snob is more pursuing apparent well-being than actual, we can notice that a man cannot bear to be among those who wear a gold watch, and he will buy fake ones for himself. A girl, getting into the circle of glamorous friends, can no longer afford to walk in high-quality, but not branded clothes, hence a lot of Chinese fakes appear.

This applies to the material level, but there are also manifestations at the level when a person has chosen a class of scientists or people of art. He will close his own gaps, also focusing on names and labels, that is, the words of a famous professor will be more important to him than personal opinion. The author of the picture will influence the purchase decision much more than his own attitude to the combination of form and color.

Examples of professional snobbery are vivid when a young employee comes to an established team and someone begins to teach him. A distinctive feature will be that the mentor will not help, but each time will use the opportunity to point out the incompetence of the new employee and raise his skills against his background.

There is snobbery based on one's place of birth and residence - one can recall the attitude of metropolitans towards visitors and the interaction of some cities described even in jokes. This assignment of oneself to some class, which does not give formal advantages for more than one decade, causes precisely a large number of snobs. Now, the more people began to move, the less relevant the manifestation of snobbery based on a geographical feature becomes, but at the same time, the influence of fashion and mass media on the formation of the desired image and the desire to match it increases.

Is snobbery good or bad?

There was a perception of snobbery as a negative personality trait. This is due to the unpleasant emotions experienced by society at the sight of cheap deeds, demonstrative behavior and the inner emptiness of snobs. At the same time, from the perspective of building interaction, these are also not the most pleasant people who will favorably treat only those who belong to the circle they have chosen, and even better will be one of the leading personalities there. With all the rest, snobs are treated like the lower class or do not even consider them to be people, they are quite cruel in their comments, experiences from which a person can result in deep psychological trauma.

But if you think a little more seriously, then in the end, snobbery does not bring anything bad within the framework of the development of culture as a whole. These people do not accept the lower manifestations of a person and will stop this, both in their own behavior and in those around them. They always contribute to the development of culture, even if they are not part of it or do not understand why the financing of this performance is so important in terms of youth development. Snobs will always strive to look beautiful and surround themselves with beautiful things - a matter of taste can be edited with the support of stylists or developed independently over time.

In any case, this is a desire for culture and beauty, which is not characteristic of all people. And a very active position in this matter helps to revive lost cultural layers, discover new modern talents, and develop society as a whole. This moment cannot be ignored, since many really sensitive people who belong to the elite classes on their merits and, in fact, do not strive for such an intensive development of their niche as snobs who burst in there, bought their own places and maybe that is why they value development so much. as a way to stay.

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

Many people assume that a snob is an arrogant person who finds himself superior to others for some reason, takes pride in it, and blatantly demonstrates his superiority. Other people usually find his demeanor repulsive, as it is unpleasant for them to see an obvious and unreasonable underestimation of their own material, intellectual, cultural or other level. The main personal quality of a snob can be called pride and pride, directed towards vanity.

Who is a snob?

A snob is a person prone to narcissism, possessing delusions of grandeur and worshiping what, in his opinion, belongs to the high and prestigious. It is characteristic of him to exaggerate the significance of some things.

The snob very carefully observes the style rules of the circle of people to which he wants to relate. At the same time, he sincerely believes that he most subtly and correctly understands all the requirements of characteristic fashion. Snob behaviors boil down to admiration for what the elite values. But objects or works of art are recognized not because of their true value, but because their properties are understood by representatives of the upper class, who need to be like.

The snob feels the need to enjoy his own importance. But this is impossible alone, as he feels the need to stand out from others. In addition, weak-minded people are not able to be alone with themselves for a long time.

What is characteristic of a snob personality?

It is common for a snob to end a relationship with a person who does not act according to the inflated standards he requires. At the same time, if a representative of a high class, to whom the proud person also wants to relate, also makes a similar mistake, then this goes unnoticed. That is, a snob breaks off relations with a good and smart person if he buys products in the market, and not in an elite supermarket. But at the same time, if a famous person whom the proud man imitates does the same, then the hypocrite confirms the correctness of his choice. It is common for a snob to exaggerate the importance of the system of division into classes in society.

Other people are usually not even going to compete with him or prove their superiority, and until he appears, they don’t even know that something is wrong with them. The snob experiences an intuitive desire to develop a flawed feeling in acquaintances and relatives and rise at their expense.

How does a snob choose his circle of acquaintances?

At the same time, it cannot be said that the snob is dishonest in his actions, since he actually considers himself better than others. This person believes that his knowledge is special, his manners are refined, his taste is refined, or his origin is more noble than other people. The snob does not maintain relationships with acquaintances who do not "hold out" to his level, and if such people accidentally fall into his environment, he cuts off all contacts with them.

It is very important for a snob to be superior to other people in some way, so such a person can first pay attention to what the majority does not have and draw his own conclusions about their failure. After that, he deliberately demonstrates his superiority, creating in the minds of acquaintances the illusion of the need to possess the same that he has. Due to the lack of such a criterion in people, the snob behind the scenes indicates (by gestures, facial expressions, actions) their low status. The snob's manner of communication is to look past the interlocutor, filtering words through his teeth.

What is a snob proud of?

Talent, a large amount of money, connections with high-ranking people, and so on can act as a subject of pride. There are also reverse cases, when the snob clearly demonstrates his superiority in the ability to possess something less than his acquaintances, or simply different. By and large, the snob is absolutely indifferent to what the advantage is. His manner of communication is to present his views and property as the most correct in any situation.

Many examples can be given:

1. A laptop is better than a desktop computer.
2. An outdated and simple phone model is preferable to a new and cutting-edge one.
3. A house outside the city is better than an apartment in an elite central area (it happens vice versa).
4. More modern equipment is better than the one that was bought even a year ago.
5. Antique items are valued above any other.
6. A small car is better than a big one because it is more manoeuvrable.
7. An expensive large car is better than a small one, as it is more prestigious, and so on.

Varieties of snobs

Many people know the preference for high-quality branded items over ordinary consumer goods. But it is not always possible or even a desire to purchase, for example, a leather belt of a prestigious and best brand. A reasonable decision is to buy a medium-level brand product of the same functionality, which is made by a person who is adequate in his actions. And society fully accepts his choice.

But there is a certain type of people who literally worship brands. Usually these individuals have a considerable inferiority complex. They believe that even an ordinary, even low-quality thing with a label will be bought than a completely natural and decent thing, but without it. Such people increase their own importance in their own eyes, acquiring more and more luxury brand products.

There is also snobbery, based on an unshakable belief in superiority in mental qualities or external attractiveness. It happens that this happens on a religious level, as adherents of the correct religion go to Paradise, and everyone else goes to Hell. Or the feeling of superiority arises in relation to people with dark skin color or to the inhabitants of third world countries. Such a person and society are not in harmonious relations, because the person experiences an internal protest against his origin.

Snobbery in art is manifested in the assertion that a person from the outside is not capable of evaluating a real work. As if this is common sense, but in fact a real creator creates something at the behest of the inner voice. And a connoisseur or an intelligent person who is interested in art can see something for himself in a work, feel it, without having any specific knowledge.

History of occurrence

The concept of "snob" originated in England and meant a person of the profession "small shoemaker". Then this word began to be called individuals who want to join high society and rub themselves into the environment of aristocrats. At that time, the hypocrite did not have the appropriate taste in clothes, which was very noticeable. But gradually this quality disappeared, as a modern snob is a person who looks fashionable and stylish.

The type of "English snob" appeared in Great Britain in the Victorian era as a result of the emergence of a commercial aristocracy - a new social class. Its representatives are characterized not by noble origin, but by significance in the political and economic spheres. At that time, aristocrats and landowners had significant influence, but the new class was striving in every possible way to acquire the appropriate status.

A snob is just an upstart?

One cannot call a snob an ordinary upstart simply because he takes great care to keep secret all information about his lowly origin. At the same time, only a snob can think so, since all his acquaintances do not at all believe that any problem requiring concealment is connected with their social status.

This is also evidenced by his belief in his uniqueness and conviction in the right to occupy a high position. But famous people, by and large, do not interest him as a person, since he only needs from them belonging to a high class.

For example, a careerist may try to communicate with rich and successful people in order to learn from them their knowledge and experience, to establish relationships that may contribute to career advancement, to make new acquaintances. But the snob believes that he already relates to noble people, so he should communicate only with them. It is as if he plays a role in the theater, creating scenery for himself.

Snob-intellectual, cultural and musical pride

There is such a variety as the snobbish intellectual, which appeared in the 20th century. This is true of contemporary British society as well. Such snobbery is based on special mental abilities, wonderful refined taste. A person who understands wine (considers himself to be such) is considered as a kind of intellectual snobbery. He believes that his knowledge and taste are special.

There is also a cultural snob. This is a person who understands culture, literature, art, has an encyclopedic mind, visits art galleries.

A musical snob is a proud person who is deeply passionate about music and knows a lot about it. He buys CDs in large quantities, attends concerts, follows the latest trends, understands musical trends, is always aware of the release of new albums and looks forward to them. Such a person is the most harmless of all kinds of snobs. His interlocutors for many hours of conversations about reviews, compositions and other things are mostly on the Internet. In fact, it cannot be said that a snob is a fully intelligent person, since he only creates the appearance of such.

Fashionable, office and snob-bourgeois

There are snobs who have significant material wealth, allowing them to acquire things that are not available to many. Buy exclusive goods only for the prestige of owning them snob-bourgeois.

A fashionable snob is a person who is interested in fashionable and expensive clothes of famous brands. Such people disapprove of the owners of simple and inexpensive things.

A person holding intermediate management positions (deputy chief, department head) can be defined as an office snob. The meaning of this concept is in admiration for leadership and an arrogant attitude towards subordinate colleagues.

The British themselves are considered an arrogant nation, so they are often accused of snobbery due to excessive self-confidence. For modern British society, the manifestation of snobbery in any social class in relation to representatives of the lower class is characteristic.

Snobbery ♦ Snobisme The desire to take an example from the elite (or what is taken for the elite) for lack of the opportunity to belong to it. The snob imitates an exclusivity that he does not and cannot possess. He does not so much strive to become ... ... Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville

Show off, show off, mannerism Dictionary of Russian synonyms. snobbery n., number of synonyms: 4 show off (14) ... Synonym dictionary

SNOBISM, husband. (book). Views, behavior, manners inherent in a snob. | adj. snobbish, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

See Ambition (Source: "Aphorisms from around the world. Encyclopedia of Wisdom." www.foxdesign.ru) ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

- (from the English snob a person with a claim) eng. snobbery; German Snobismus. Imitation of tastes, manners, behavior of the so-called. high society; the individual's claim to belong to the highest social. layers. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

snobbery- a, m. snobbisme m. , English snobbism. Behavior, manners, way of thinking inherent in a person who claims to be exquisitely refined taste. But the author Daudet dealt a mortal blow to them academicians, and not even to the academy, as to the national ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Manners, behavior, views inherent in a snob. New dictionary of foreign words. by EdwART, 2009. snobbery [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Snobbery- unreasonable claims of a person for an exquisitely refined taste; refined manners, along with a dismissive attitude towards those who, in the opinion of a snob (as a person who exhibits snobbery is called), do not have all this. Snobbery is also excessive… … Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

Snobbery- (English - upstart) - a negative moral and ethical quality of a person, manifested in imitation of the tastes of a certain "high society", a passion for fashion, blind copying of tastes and habits taken as a standard, in admiration for all this, ... ... Fundamentals of spiritual culture (encyclopedic dictionary of a teacher)

snobbery- SNOBISM, a, m Behavior, attitudes, manners inherent in a person who considers himself the bearer of the highest intelligence and refined tastes, with arrogance and contempt for other people. I also, I say, like imported cigarettes ... Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns

Books

• Borough, Charlatte Brontë. The novel by the famous English writer Sh. Bronte "The Town" is a story of the struggle between two worldviews, two different approaches to life. On the one hand, there are negative characters embodying ...
• The Book of Snobs, W. M. Thackeray. Moscow, 1959. Foreign Languages ​​Publishing House. Publisher's binding. The safety is good. The concept of "snob" was coined by the English writer William Thackeray. The Book of Snobs was the first...