to the manner born

1. A person who is “to the manner born” is one who has acquired genteel tastes and habits by virtue of having been born into a privileged class: “Rachel is charming at dinner parties — as if she were to the manner born.” This expression is sometimes mistakenly rendered as “to the manor born.” The phrase is from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare .

Idioms and Phrases

Accustomed from birth to a particular behavior or lifestyle, as in At a high-society function she behaves as though to the manner born, but we know she came from very humble circumstances . This term was invented by Shakespeare in Hamlet . Referring to the King's carousing in Danish style, Hamlet says (1:4): “Though I am native here And to the manner born, it is a custom More honor'd in the breach than the observance.” The manner in this expression was later sometimes changed to manor , “the main house of an estate,” and the idiom's sense became equated with “high-born” (and therefore accustomed to luxury), a way in which it is often used today.