Thursday, April 28, 2005

Word of the Day: Plebeian


I ran across the word “plebeian” when I was doing a crossword puzzle recently. Now there’s a noun I can’t recall using in conversation since I was in college. Today, it strikes me as a a word used by an elitist.. Other than academics, who would use that expression in a normal exchange? In no time at all, my imagination was off and running trying to envision how “plebeian” would come up in every day conversations:

  • The butler at the French embassy in Washington approaches his boss at the breakfast table and said, “Monsieur, there’s a plebeian at the door who says his name is George Bush? Do you wish to see him?”
  • One A- lister says to another, “Jean, this caviar is wonderful! Let the plebeians have their Friday night fish fry dinners. I’ll stick with this.”
  • One cat to another: “Let’s see how long it takes these plebeians to figure out that calling us does no good. Why don’t they just leave a message? I’ll get back to them when it’s convenient.. If it’s convenient….”
  • A sales associate at Neiman Marcus’s to a friend: “I hate spending time with these plebeians. Doesn’t Wal-mart carry Rolex watches?”

Any of you other plebeians have more examples?

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