It has come to my attention to correct a few commonly used words whose hidden interpretations you may not be aware of. The use of these words can often reflect one’s education and background as a part of the old school code. Mummy wanted me to know the difference.

Here is a personal story detailing the consequences: my girls prep school English teacher reprimanded me, in front of the entire 8th-grade class (the kind of embarrassment that you never forget!) for using the word “raised” in my sentence: “He was raised in America.” She said animals and crops are “raised” and children are “reared”. So from then on, my children were “reared in New England”! Reared is the more traditional, polished choice.

Other common mistakes include:

Correct Form: Children

Incorrect: Kids

Reasoning: Kids are baby goats, “raised” by a mother goat!

Correct Form: Buffet

Incorrect: Spread

Reasoning: A time-honored tradition, “spread” is never used.

Correct Form: Dinner Jacket or Black Tie

Incorrect: Tuxedo

Reasoning: A time-honored tradition, “tuxedo” is never used.

Correct Form: How do you do?

Incorrect: Pleased to meet you

Reasoning: A time-honored tradition, “pleased to meet you” is only used after both people state the “how do you do?” greeting first.

Correct Form: To have tea

Incorrect Form: To take tea

Reasoning: One takes a bath, one has tea.

Sign up for Mummy’s Monday Manners to receive new sparkling tips about etiquette and classic design every week, along with a free download of Holly’s Elegant Entertaining e-book.