Synonym a Day

Voyage en Grande Bourgeoisie, which is a sociological self-help book for those who wish to [act like the upper crust]. . . . [W]hile it doesn’t exactly give etiquette lessons it does invoke the problems of balancing a full glass and a petit four while chatting at a crowded reception and warns of such tribal customs as hand kissing or the baisemain. “The baisemain surprises and even aggresses those who are not accustomed to its use,” they write. (Mary Blume, “Classes in Class: Studying a Gilded Ghetto,” International Herald Tribune, 8/2/1997.)