"Very civilised"

When did people start saying this in response to you mentioning any activity that isn't drinking a six pack while watching some bear baiting? Is it just a UK thing or do people say this in the US too?

EG "I went to see exhibition x"

"Oh very civilised!"

Is this common because when someone says they saw something you've never heard of it's the easiest response. Or because people feel awkward talking about things like galleries or weird arty events or whatever?

Discus

they do? the sentiment is pretty common but the phrase not so much afaik

i find the phrase common enough that it feels like it has a v specific social purpose or something! fairly sure i've said it myself plenty times too

just make sure you say civilized

is it always with a z? shame on me

i spent last night watching ferrets fight each other and drinking toilet cleaner

well la di da

i spent last night watching ferrets fight each other and drinking toilet cleaner

that old culture vs civilization trope

It's the old self-deprecating English middle class thing isn't it? Implies a kind of "don't normally roll with high-falutin' culture stuff m'self" attitude.

Perfectly correct to spell civilised with a "s" btw

there are a lot of crap newsnight review ish cultural 'events' that aspirant left-bourgie types try to get excited about whereas orthodox upper mids would generally rather watchs ferrets fight

also people from East Anglia

steer clear of old people and you shouldn't have to deal with this crap. otherwise, give em a good sucker punch

i only say this in response to stories about downing six packs and/or ferret fighting

I probably have said this or similar often enough but I can't quite recall the exact phrasing I'd use

but barely a day goes by without me saying "how uncivilised" in response to e.g. "I had to get up before noon to go to work today"

I think with high cultural events, people basically go to them not because they enjoy them but because they feel they ought to, so the "how civilised" comment is people saluting you for putting yourself through the misery of something that somehow makes you a better person.

Yeah, the unbearable pressure of keeping up with my mates down the pub is the only reason I wd go to a lol "High" Cultural shindig.

i've mostly heard/used this to praise the introduction of some comfort to an otherwise grim/sloppy/austere situation. i'm so naturally urbane ppl deem the other usage unnecessary

i'd usually take it as an expression of mild surprise, but i mean it's not like i ever hear it tbh.

i've mostly heard/used this to praise the introduction of some comfort to an otherwise grim/sloppy/austere situation.

AKA "What happens when you move in with your boyfriend."

there are a lot of crap newsnight review ish cultural 'events' that aspirant left-bourgie types try to get excited about whereas orthodox upper mids would generally rather watchs ferrets fight

loooool otm

ime boyfriends less likely to offer a "very civilised" to homely enhancements from a gf and more likely to offer a "wtf is all this shit?"

My current one is extremely appreciative, but yeah, you prob have to value those things in the first place. Not to cast aspersions but maybe being of a certain advanced age helps cos you've done the sloppy student thing already (disclaimer: obv not a universal truth).

Q: "wtf is all this shit?"

A: Dishes without grease spots on; clean sheets without cigarette ash smears; food containing actual vegetables; shower product that intended for any other than a puberty-riddled teenaged boy.

plenty of guys ready to be awed by any female w/ framed photos & a properly run kitchen, no doubt. I am way more civilised than my gf frankly, she's basically my eliza doolittle.

almost all of my adult gf action has been ladies upgrading from manky gits. i know my place, and having endured my teens am looking forward to the 30's being my time to shine.

Haha Eliza Doolittle. We all have our disgusting savage specialties; mine is total silence while I tuck into food. Bf says he knows I'm happy when all talking stops during mealtime.

Conversation is what smoking & drinking are for. Eating, not so much.

it's why paperback novels were invented tbh

Ignoring you until after lunch tbh

where can I find these ferret fights you speak of?

Thread reminding me of 1920s and '30s novels in which poor or fallen-circumstances characters get the chance to hear some "elevated" music or attend an opera or etc...always, ALWAYS intended to show their inner worth/tendency toward culture & cultivation regardless of their straitened circumstances.

Ie "quality will out".