Shadowing Practice: What does 'posh' actually mean in British English? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What does posh actually mean in Britain?
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Is it about being rich, speaking with a certain accent, going to private school, or simply knowing which fork to use at dinner?
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In this episode of the English Right Now podcast, that's what we're talking about.
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My name is British English teacher Roy, and joining me to discuss at least 10 pieces of related vocabulary
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and teach you about this subject is my dear friend Rob.
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Hello.
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Hello.
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See, I'm putting on a posh voice.
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You did, didn't you?
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goodness how are you sensational oh how'd you do how'd you do how'd you do how'd you do yeah
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i'm i'm i'm i don't know i feel like i should become more formal the way you started
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that it's interesting uh instant now
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and say i'm smashing thank you marvelous it's a good point roy actually
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when you put on a posh voice yeah you become more formal don't you yes
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formality is is a weird one
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because it's it's it's i always tell this to students in certain environments it's absolutely necessary
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but in everyday life the more formal we are the more distant
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and it can actually cause more kind of social problems social distance
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if i become formal with you i'm creating a barrier you
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might wonder what have i done to upset roy you oh i'm very well rock thank you no i'm fine
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but of course it could be it could be down to
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my um down to my upbringing maybe i had a very good upbringing
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and i was taught how to uh behave
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and speak properly you know the queen's english yeah yes okay
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so this is we'll talk about upbringing in a moment
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but let's talk about that exact word posh good
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or bad what do you think
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if somebody says oh you're posh yeah would you say it's
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good to be called posh i wouldn't want to be called posh no no no
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because it has lots of implications really yes um it is
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an interesting word i mean firstly you may be going to
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mention this anyway about the origins of the word oh no
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go for it yeah well the word the word posh actually comes from cruise liners
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that used to go from the uk
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to america and to have the best cabin with the best sunshine and the best light
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was on the port side on the way out
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and on the starboard side on the way home so po port out
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starboard home posh is that true or is it is it one of those
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that is that it could be a myth
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but that's what i was told you know what you can let us know in the car
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because there's a number of those isn't there
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that people go yeah there's a number of those and people go oh and then people I'm going, no, it's not.
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It's actually from, I don't know.
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So you can let us know in the comments below if that's true, or we'll put something down in there.
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But that's a fascinating story.
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It's my story.
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My story.
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Yeah. But posh, yes.
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Posh.
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Posh can have kind of two implications.
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Yeah, posh is you're wealthy, you're well -brought up.
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Posh also means you're kind of a bit false.
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You're being a bit kind of trying to be better than somebody else as well.
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Yes.
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We have a word for those sort of people, don't we?
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careful careful uh snob uh
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which is one of our words a person who believes their tastes background
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or social positions uh position makes them superior to others uh
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and it's this arrogance this oh such an arrogant snob we sometimes hear it like
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that he's such a snob snobbish behavior is like behaving as
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though people from a particular social group are lower than them
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you know it's like it's like looking down on people yeah
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i i don't think the posh itself is a very uh it's a bit derogatory
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and i think it i i wouldn't like it
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so i'll give you an example i went to york
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and there was a we were walking through the streets of york as you do
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and this he was drunk actually it was it was in the evening
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but there was a rather a drunk fellow i thought oh gosh no
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and my son talks to everybody and he started chatting with this man
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and i was like oh no he's drunk
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and then i thought i better say something i was like
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oh yeah we're just on holiday up from here uh we're just up from the isle of white
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and this guy went oh you're right posh you aren't you
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and i said thank you and he went it's not a compliment uh
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but then after a few minutes he realized
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that I was just I just had a different accent
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and then he realized I was all right
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that I wasn't I didn't think I was better than anybody no I have
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that as well
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because I I come from I was brought up in a town called Henley -on -Thames
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so a nice town by the river it's famous for its annual regatta
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and stuff very posh and so of course
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when I always say I come from Henley -on -Thames they go oh you're you're posh
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but I always I always then follow it up by saying
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oh I lived the the poor end of henley we lived
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in a small house in the poor end of henley which probably a small castle In a small castle, not a big one Yeah,
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that's right Barely had two turrets But it's places Places and things have this Connotation of being posh
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When it's a very Generalisation, but it's not always Always right So that word posh realistically means Associated with the upper classes Wealth,
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privilege, or sophisticated Tastes, but a lot of people do use it In a derogatory way to sort of say Oh, you'll think you're better than us
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um we do have a class structure still in the uk
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i'd say um it changes from time to time we always
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talk about something i always find funny is everybody always says the war on class is over
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uh i read a i think it was kate fox she was talking about this
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and she said if it was over
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why do we keep talking about it it's never over yes
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no no we're still there i think the thing the boundaries the divisions have changed
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or blurred a bit more it's not as distinct maybe as it was in Victorian times or something like that.
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But we still talk about, we still, yeah, have this sort of class structure in our head, don't we?
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I mean, I've heard it instead of class, talking about socioeconomic groups and other kind of ways of introducing it.
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But traditionally, the class system was basically the upper, middle, and working class.
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They didn't like the word, we didn't, some people said lower class, but we tended to avoid that word
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so upper class belonging to the highest social class in society
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or the hoi polloi as they say the bourgeois this kind
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of you know the the kind of uh tradition it was people
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that didn't really work or was had money from inheritance we'll talk about
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that the middle class the middle class which really grew, I think it grew out of something called the merchant class
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and it was basically belonging to a social group traditionally associated with professional jobs education and relative financial comfort
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and now we have lower middle, upper middle and then in the past working class traditionally referred to people who did more manual jobs industrial,
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lower paid work so maybe somebody who worked in a coal mine was considered working class
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and somebody who worked in an office
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middle class but you're right it has blurred hasn't it yes yes
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because i think people well we don't have many coal miners do we
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but you're kind of your plumber
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or your electrician i don't think they would think of themselves
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as working class now they have quite a bit of money
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for a start they're not quite wealthy some of them um
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so yes and you have all these status symbols you know the size of the house you live in
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and what kind of car you drive all that kind of stuff
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and And the other term we used to use is like white -collar workers and blue -collar workers.
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Yeah, blue -collar were more industrial and white -collar were office, even though I'm wearing a blue -collar at the moment.
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And I don't even have a shirt at all, no collar.
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Oh, God, I can barely look at you.
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But yeah, I mean, you're right, it's blurred.
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I mean, in the past, maybe a plumber would have been seen as skilled but not educated, lower paid and all this but these days plumbers they're
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so hard to find they're so they're
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so in demand they can charge a fortune there are plumbers
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earning far more than somebody working in an office job
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so yeah you're right it's blurred in a lot of ways
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and i think i think that's a good thing
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but i think there's kind of this sort of middle working class all punched a bunch together
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and it's basically how much money you've got where you stand on
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that scale really uh but there's still anyway But there's still that higher tier, as you say, of posh, people who think they're posh.
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I think it's getting to the upper class and the rest.
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Yes.
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And it's trickled down.
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We might call these posh people toffs, mightn't we?
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Oh, it's a good word.
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It's a good word.
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You know, toff, it's a slightly informal, it's an informal word.
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And it's slightly mocking for upper class or wealthy people.
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If I were upper class or if I were wealthy, I don't think I'd like somebody to call me a toff.
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But it's got this image, hasn't it?
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What would you describe a toff as?
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Oh, somebody who, well, they dress quite smartly.
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I always think they have their nose in the air as well, for some reason.
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Yes.
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Like they look down on you.
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Oh, jolly good, jolly good.
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It's almost a toff has this idea of being rich,
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like snobbish maybe yeah totally unaware of how people live yeah uh real people live
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and of course the opposite of a tough
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if you wanted to insult somebody who wasn't a tough you'd possibly call them common
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which is a bit that's also a derogatory term uh it's quite insulting to say well it's not always
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but insulting description for behavior considered lacking in refinement and class
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so if you if you say all right all right roy you know
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yes you don't know how to comment It's like you don't know how to use a soup spoon, you know, rather than using it properly.
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Yes.
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What's a soup spoon, Rob?
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But I mean, this is this is the thing.
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It's fascinating to sort of talk about those sort of things about common, you know.
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And also, of course, common can also mean every day.
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I'm just, you know, common people and all that.
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And it's it's not necessarily negative, but it just basically means ordinary.
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I mean there are two types I think
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when I think of upper class
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and I think of being posh I usually think of what we would call old money
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which is wealth that has existed in a family for several generations it's passed down
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new money is the opposite which is wealth acquired relatively recently rather than through inheritance like maybe
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I mean I don't know but some of these businessmen
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that now you know maybe they are new money
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because they've made money from money
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or they've made money from money they've made money from nothing yes
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and interestingly and generalizing here but these people don't seem to be
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so posh it's the old money that's no posh new money
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yes you've got lots of money not necessarily uh high class or or sophisticated
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you know yeah and i i think
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that the in the uk in general we are quite class conscious uh
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which is aware of the differences between classes i think we're very class conscious um
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but more so of them and the rest i think it's getting to that level
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because i would consider myself for example relatively well spoken i would consider you uh well spoken uh
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which is speaking clearly and in a way traditionally considered i mean it was considered educated
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and socially prestigious not so much now it's just an accent um
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but well -spoken also means a good command of the language uh
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but i wouldn't consider you posh rob oh thank you not in
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that kind of no yeah well no
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but i wouldn't consider you posh in the sense of you know i consider you well -spoken educated
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yes it's interesting but i wouldn't consider you
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that level it's interesting about the voice i mean these days regional accents are you know perfectly accepted and stuff
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when you listen to old recordings of bbc programs they have
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very well pronounced rp accents who would say oh that's a
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that's a bit posh posh voice you know yeah i i
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mean i think you know there is the difference between a
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modern rp standard southern british english those kind of accent
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that accent and the traditional rp
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which is more you know you may hear the king using traditional rp
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and it's an interesting scale i know this is fascinating well the learners the the listeners will love it
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but the there is an idea that the posher you are the more you clip vowels vowel sounds
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and the more common you are the more you clip consonants
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so i mean i think this is a massive stereotype
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and it's a massive judgment and i i don't necessarily subscribe
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but you know you could say uh a handkerchief but
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if you listen to an rp speaker they say handkerchief handkerchief a handkerchief
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and they clip their vowels hello oh it's very good very
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good they clip it i i wouldn't even call it a handkerchief i call it a hanky
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so what does that make me hanky that's that's off the scale isn't it uh
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but uh that's that's that's incredible i i don't we do we do
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we do use the word posh quite informally
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when we talk about something a bit fancy like i'm going
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to a posh restaurant tonight a posh restaurant might be somewhere
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that has a tablecloth on the on the you know how
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you live rob um yeah the mcdonald's with a tablecloth um
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yeah we do use it you know i think it's also
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sort of saying oh i'm going somewhere swanky uh posh also i think
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if you describe a person as posh it's a bit more derogatory than a than a restaurant or Or, you know, I mean, if you came over to my house and went, oh, very posh, I might think,
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you know, I think you'd just mean fancy.
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But then we also have a mutual understanding from years of knowing each other.
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Yeah.
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Well, I do know you live in a huge castle on your own personal island.
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So it does all sound very posh.
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You have a very posh lifestyle.
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It's true.
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Let's not talk about personal islands.
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It doesn't seem to be.
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Anyway.
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But, yeah, no, no. My castle is always open.
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The drawbridge is always down.
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um but yeah there's this idea i think i think the word posh when we use it in general for things
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it can be a bit a bit more like banter like
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slightly joking it's quite it's quite a posh restaurant isn't it especially i think
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if it's a make it you know you go i'm going to
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that new restaurant oh it's quite posh for you isn't it
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it's almost still attacking your life saying you're trying to be above your station i think yeah um
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but there is this idea that the upper class they're quite privileged as well
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and i think that's the key piece of vocabulary we really
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need you know it's this idea their social status is higher
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they i don't think they necessarily do look down on the
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rest of the yeah some may some may not people are different
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but this i think there's this idea
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that we look up to the upper class and they look down
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and i you know i think i think it's this idea
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of privilege they've gone to the most expensive private schools private
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education they've had yes everything to handed to them they've had it yeah exactly they've had stuff handed to them
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because they've had rich parents who in turn had rich parents
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and so it's all been very easy they've not had to worry about money.
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They've had this privileged lifestyle that they haven't had to suffer.
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That's our impression.
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Maybe it's an inferiority complex, though.
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We think, oh, yes, they've got more money.
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They're better than us.
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You don't need to feel inferior when you're talking to me.
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It's fine, Rob.
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I love that we're painting me as posh.
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I definitely wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
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That's a great expression.
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If you're born with a silver a spoon in your mouth
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it basically means you're posh upper class uh this kind of thing it's probably
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because of the way they talk oh yeah like this uh
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horse riding tends to be associated with the upper class doesn't
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it as well it's another thing i don't know what polo gosh
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if you said i'm trying taking up a new sport roy
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polo i'd be like oh it's too too posh for me rob
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i'd be worried um
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but i mean it's yeah it's it's background private schools public schools uh private school
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and public school are the same thing aren't they basically well they're slightly different
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but they're both fee -paying schools if you go to state school
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which is the actual school then you're seen as more normal your average private private school
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or public school seen as a as a privilege hmm doesn't always mean by the way
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that doesn't calling it posh doesn't always mean it's better it's just um an idea
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that it's rich and and privileged that it's
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or feels it's better you know you know oh it's a posh restaurant
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but i know i just prefer you know the food may
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be better at this what we call a greasy spoon cafe
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like a like a just a bill you know sort of
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place where you see builders the food may be better there than some in fact
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if i'm totally honest a lot of sort of posh restaurants i don't really enjoy them
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because they come with small portions and i'm like
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but that's true all these swirls
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and kind of you talk about the difference in the restaurants
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and a kind of fry up place the thing is they
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could serve the same food greasy spoon would serve up bacon and eggs
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but a posh restaurant would serve up a beautifully served perfect
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egg with some beautiful crispy rashes of bacon same food
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but it's served differently therefore it's it's posh
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and they charge you more money for it i mean this is a whole different story isn't it
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because people do
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if something seems to cost more money they possibly do associate
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it with it being better oh you know this is a real treat uh
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so i mean that's a whole thing about human the human brain psychology working there uh
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but it's a fascinating one
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but I want to say thank you very much Rob for joining me on this subject
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if you would like to buy us a cup of tea
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or apparently a bottle of champagne no just a cup of
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tea there's always a link down below you can buy us a cup of tea to support this podcast
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and help it keep going but Rob thank you very much I'd say you're a down to earth typical bloke
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thank you very much Roy it's a privilege to be on this this posh podcast welcome your majesty
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take care see you in the next one bye
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “What does 'posh' actually mean in British English?”. This video has 296 sentences and 3455 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:10. The speaker talks fast, about 180 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| handkerchief noun | /ˈhæŋkəːt͡ʃɪf/ | A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands. |
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| privilege noun | /ˈpɹɪv.(ɪ.)lɪd͡ʒ/ | A particular benefit, advantage, or favor; a right or immunity enjoyed by some but not others; a prerogative, preferential treatment. |
| spoon noun | /spuːn/ | An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle. |
| collar noun | /ˈkɑlɚ/ | The part of an upper garment (shirt, jacket, etc.) that fits around the neck and throat, especially if sewn from a separate piece of fabric. |
| derogatory adjective | /dɪˈɹɑɡəˌtɔɹi/ | Disparaging. |
| fascinate verb | /ˈfæsɪneɪt/ | To evoke an intense interest or attraction in someone. |
| henley noun | A type of knit shirt with a front placket but no collar. | |
| plumber noun | /ˈplʌm.əɹ/ | One who furnishes, fits, and repairs pipes and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage. |
| blur verb | /blɝ/ | To make indistinct or hazy, to obscure or dim. |
| traditionally adverb | /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/ | In a traditional manner. |
| upbringing noun | /ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ/ | The traits acquired during one's childhood training |
| vowel noun | /ˈvaʊ.əl/ | A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable. |
| educate verb | /ˈɛd͡ʒ.əˌkeɪt/ | To instruct or train. |
| insult noun | /ɪnˈsʌlt/ | Action or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude; (countable) a particular act or statement having this effect. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| look down on verb | To regard or treat as inferior. |
| bring up verb | To mention. |
| grow out of verb | To emerge from (something); to take a particular shape as a result of (something); to come to exist from (an origin). |
| look down verb | To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards. |
| look up to verb | To show respect or admiration for (someone); to see (someone) as a role model. |
| pass down verb | To hand over, pass through or transfer to a lower level, next generation, etc. |
| take up verb | To pick up. |
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- See, I'm putting on a posh voice.
- You did, didn't you?
- We have a word for those sort of people, don't we?
- We might call these posh people toffs, mightn't we?
- What would you describe a toff as?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if that's true, or we'll put |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to go · used to use |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have i done · have changed · I've heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was taught · be called · was told |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 131 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, snobbish /ˈsnɒbɪʃ/, implication /ˌɪmpləˈkeɪʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
- Long words — get the stress right: derogatory /dɪˈɹɑɡəˌtɔɹi/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, implication /ˌɪmpləˈkeɪʃən/, inheritance /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like handkerchief, accent, privilege.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.