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
This book makes no more sense than the king's English, but it projects the same fey charm.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
It shows that until about 40 years before Abraham Lincoln entered public life, the Lincolns were a wealthy and distinguished family of ironmasters who spoke the king's English.
From Time Magazine Archive
As William Pitman Priest, Esq., citizen, taxpayer, and Confederate veteran he mishandled the king's English as though he had but small personal regard for the king or his English either.
From Sundry Accounts by Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)
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
In The King’s English, the Fowler brothers counseled against Americanisms, but expressed envy over fall:
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2018
Kingsley Amis, in The King’s English, calls alright a “oneword travesty”.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2016
The King’s English and whatever his people spoke in Zambia.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
