upper working classn.adj.
/ˌʌpə ˌwəːkɪŋ ˈklɑːs/, /ˌʌpə ˌwəːkɪŋ ˈklas/, U.S. /ˌəpər ˌwərkɪŋ ˈklæs/ A. n.
A class of society or social grouping consisting of the upper stratum of the working class; (in singular and plural) the members of such a class, typically consisting of skilled tradesmen, shopworkers, etc., and their families. Cf. lower working class n., lower middle class n.
ΚΠ
1848 J. Sinnett tr. T. Mügge Switzerland in 1847 II. ix. 188 The society includes many members, mostly the young men of the upper working classes [Ger. junge Leute, Handwerker], watchmakers, shopmen, clerks, &c.
1857 Statesman 17 Oct. 27/1 It is..a career expressly closed against the males of that mixed social stratum, the lower middle-class and upper working-class.
1917 L. Woolf Let. 30 Oct. (1990) 216 Mrs Booth is Scotch of the upper working class, very kind but rather sticky in conversation.
1959 Changing Times Jan. 37/2 The ‘upper working class’ (40% to 45% of the population) are interested in comfort, sturdiness and an up-to-date look.
1965 R. J. Havighurst & J. R. Moreira Society & Educ. in Brazil (1969) v. 99 The South was leading Brazil toward a social structure with..an upper working class that was growing at the expense of the lower working class.
2007 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 23 Nov. (Features section) 57 These were the increasingly wealthy upper-working classes who were doing well under the Liberals.
B. adj.
Usually with hyphen(s). Of or relating to the upper working class; (also) designating a person belonging to this class.
ΚΠ
1861 Evening Star & Dial 8 Apr. 4/2 No writer of the present day comes near to her [sc. George Eliot] in intimate acquaintance with the peculiarities of people in lower, middle, and upper working-class life.
1870 Temperance Rec. 8 Jan. 15/3 There is..a vast change in the habits of society in most ranks, and probably not least in those of the middle class and the upper working class ranks.
1908 Spectator 2 May 700/1 There has been a great body of middle-class and upper working-class voters..who two years ago voted Liberal, but who have now voted Conservative.
1977 Winnipeg Free Press 24 Sept. (Leisure section) 16/3 We lived..in an upper working class, predominately W.A.S.P. neighborhood.
1988 Times 4 Feb. 19/1 This was a..rather dull portrait of upper-working class aspirations slowly grinding to a halt.
2004 B. McCabe R. Barker (2008) i. 12 Given Tim's job as a clerk for Shell Mex, the family now considered itself to be upper working-class.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1848