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charm school

American  

noun

  1. a school for teaching the social graces, grooming and dress, etc.


Etymology

Origin of charm school

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fans of the 1992 movie might remember the scenes detailing the makeup and “look” required of players and the charm school they attended.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 5, 2022

Those few members who knew how to handle Vanreenen would chide him, “Ah, Major, I see you’ve been to charm school again.”

From Golf Digest • May 5, 2020

Hey, Harvard Law isn’t a a charm school.

From The Guardian • Apr. 1, 2016

My favorite: “What kind of 1950’s hostess charm school rock did this crawl out from under?”

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2015

“The surprising thing is,” said Violet, “when he flunked out of charm school, it was because he couldn’t learn the minuet.”

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson