First recorded in 1545–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He, however, is so wrapped up in his studies of phonetics that his only interest in Eliza is her appalling command of the king's English.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2011
Episcopalians seem to be polls apart It was in 1549 that the Church of England forsook the Latin liturgy and began worshiping in the king's English.
From Time Magazine Archive
All concerned murder the king's English, but in a grand, Gaelic manner.
From Time Magazine Archive
This book makes no more sense than the king's English, but it projects the same fey charm.
From Time Magazine Archive
I venture to say that in a fifteen-minute conversation he would commit more horrible crimes against the king’s English than even that new stable-boy of yours.
From The Efficiency Expert by Burroughs, Edgar Rice
The King's English and Cockney are no longer common dialects among young people in the South East of England, according to a new study.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2023
“He may butcher the King’s English occasionally, and God knows he tweets too much, but he’s got my back,” Mr. Pennacchio said.
From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2020
The Brontës’ novels are stuffed full of dialect, and Heathcliff hardly speaks the King’s English.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 16, 2019
In The King’s English, the Fowler brothers counseled against Americanisms, but expressed envy over fall:
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2018
Its language supposedly represents the ultimate in using the King’s English.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
