beau

Beau Brummel

A very fashionable man. The name refers to an actual person, George Bryan "Beau" Brummel, who was considered a tastemaker in England's Regency period. That guy's a real Beau Brummel, so I definitely trust his opinion on what I should wear. Who is that Beau Brummel in the top hat over there? I don't usually come to fancy events like this. I work in the stables, so I'm a pretty far cry from a Beau Brummel.
See also: beau

beau-nasty

obsolete A man who is stylish in dress but otherwise dirty or disheveled. A lady like myself can't go to this event with a beau-nasty on my arm! What will people think? Would you please trim your beard already? You're turning into a real beau-nasty. Do you really think a wealthy girl like Helena will want anything to do with a beau-nasty like you?

dirty beau

obsolete A man who is stylish in dress but otherwise dirty or disheveled. A lady like myself can't go to this event with a dirty beau on my arm! What will people think? Would you please trim your beard already? You're turning into a real dirty beau. Do you really think a wealthy girl like Helena will want anything to do with a dirty beau like you?
See also: beau, dirty

the beau monde

Collectively, society's most wealthy and fashionable people; the beautiful people. The phrase is French for "fine world." Those parties are exclusively for the beau monde. You wouldn't be invited even as a waiter.
See also: beau, monde
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Beau Brummel

A male fashion plate. George Bryan Brummel, nicknamed “Beau,” was one of the best-known figures of Regency England of the late 18th to early 19th century. As unofficial fashion advisor to the Prince Regent, later King George IV, Brummel was the arbiter of taste, style, and etiquette; he popularized trousers (instead of knee breeches) with matching coats, as well as cravats that were the forerunners of neckties. The epithet Beau Brummel was applied to any man who was fastidious about his clothing, even if he wasn't a trendsetter.
See also: beau
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price
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