What is snobbery. Who is a Snob Meaning Snob

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. "Well, you're a snob!" - with equal probability, such a phrase can sound like an insult and as an expression of sincere delight.

Everyone hears this word, but what it means - most people feel only on a subconscious level. In general, a case from the series “I understand everything, but I can’t say”. Let's formulate!

The concept of "snob": what does it mean and where did it come from

The biting word "snob" came to us from the UK (from the English snob). In English, it spread as an abbreviated version of the Latin "sine nobilitas" - " without nobility". In the years 1775-1785, the English used it, speaking of a shoemaker or apprentice. Later so began to designate any commoner.

The spread of the concept of "snob" is closely related to the historical events that took place in the UK. As a result of transformations in the economy and politics, a new aristocracy was formed here, not noble in origin, but quickly enriched and therefore sought to quickly acquire the appropriate status.

However, the old elite did not want to give up their positions. At the end of the 18th century the mark's. nob" were placed in the lists of ship passengers opposite the names of "ignoble" passengers, unworthy of being present at the captain's dinner.

Similar events developed within the walls of Oxford and Cambridge. The abbreviation "s. nob" were marked in the general lists of students of non-noble origin. At Eton University (a private British school for boys), a specific slang has formed: “ nobs"Called students of noble origin (from the English noble -" nobleman”), but “snob” sounded like.

Young people from families of the newly minted bourgeoisie and wealthy landowners were often richer than classmates-nobles. They aspired not to be "white crows", but they saw no other way to realize this desire other than demonstrating ostentatious luxury, bordering on bad taste. This behavior has become call it "snobbery" and those who behave like this are snobs.

A snob is a person who seeks to scrupulously imitate the manners and tastes of high society, dismissively referring to everything that is “except”. Also called someone who is too strenuously claims authority in some area.

Who is a snob and how to recognize him

The classic concept of "snob" has expanded markedly with the light hand of the English writer William Thackeray, the castigator of human weaknesses and vices. He claimed that snobs are found on any rungs of the social ladder, and not just among commoners. In The Book of Snobs Written by One of Them and Vanity Fair, he portrayed snobbery and its bearers in vivid colors.

A disdainful attitude towards those who do not correspond to the norms of society, revered as the highest. The snob divides everyone into categories according to aesthetic, intellectual, professional, material characteristics.
The value is not of the objects and phenomena themselves, but of how much they are valued by representatives of the circle in which the snob is eager to be involved.
Lack of own opinion. For such people, it is always borrowed from the coveted "higher circle."
Persistent search for evidence of noble birth. Among the ancestors, a noble French great-grandmother or a general of the tsarist army is necessarily revealed, and the family coat of arms is presented for public viewing. Worker-peasant ancestors are suddenly "forgotten".
Yesterday's Larisa or Sasha can suddenly turn into Laura or Sandra: a snob seeks to ennoble himself by any means, at least at the expense of a sonorous name.
Positioning yourself as an expert in various significant areas (in art, literature, fashion, finance, etc.), the owner of a refined taste.
Constant emphasizing the fact of his stay in high society. The snob posts photos from the series “this is me with the Prince of Wales” at home in prominent places, on social networks. In conversation, he likes to throw big names, creating the appearance of close acquaintance with prominent personalities.

The basis of the psychology of a snob is desire seem bigger than it is in fact. Such people have remade the well-known credo "To be, not to seem" into "To seem, not to be."

It is more important for a snob to portray than to fully live and feel.

What is snobbery in various areas of life

"Snobologist" William Thackeray noted that such a phenomenon is more a psychological trait than a social affiliation.

In simple words, snobbery is the way of thinking and behavior characteristic of a snob. He can manifest itself in different areas, actions, situations.

A very common thing is snobbery by origin. They "suffer" the population of large cities. A typical example is “come in large numbers here”, sounding from the lips of supposedly native Muscovites.

The snobbery of Petersburgers, which was formed, among other things, due to many years of rivalry with Moscow, is manifested by a special arrogance with a creative and intellectual bias - they even formed their own, unique dialect (Greek, kura, shawarma -).

A stable term has become English snobbery- a legacy of imperial psychology, preserved from the time when almost half the world was under English rule. Even after the fall of the empire, this way of thinking and behavior was partially preserved.

Today we often encounter professional snobbery. If sane people understand that it is impossible to be a mega-professional in all areas, then their fellow snobs are of a different opinion.

Such "pros" arrogantly, with a touch of slight contempt, look at newcomers, thoughtfully reflect on their career path. Professional snobbery is especially pronounced in the IT field: funny system administrators love to mock everyone who does not have knowledge in this area at the pro level. Do not lag behind them, and workers auto repair shops.

Professionalism in your field is commendable. However, it would be interesting to see how the system administrator Igor and the car mechanic Nikolai will pay their own salaries or try to heal their teeth by switching places with the accountant Marina (unable to reinstall the operating system) and the dentist Irina (who does not distinguish between serious repairs and banal oil changes).

intellectual snobbery characteristic of people who position themselves as individuals who are ahead of the environment in development. If Vasya has read the entire Russian State Library (including the storerooms), distinguishes Monet from Manet, and Strauss from Schubert, he considers himself entitled to classify himself as an intellectual elite. This is where it begins: “What is there to talk about with him if he has not read Schopenhauer?”

Unlike the intellectual snob, with a true intellectual there is no role model that binds him. He reads, watches, listens and, in general, lives as he sees fit, and not as is customary in high society, moreover, he communicates normally with non-intellectuals. For a snob, these are just impossible things.

Is there any good in snobbery

Times and customs have changed since the era of old Thackeray, who ridiculed and denounced snobbery. To some extent being a snob has become prestigious.

The sonorous and biting word, despite the "damaged reputation", often appears in the names of restaurants, clubs, shops. It is loved in the media sphere and in literary circles: apparently, Tickeray's laurels still haunt many people.

"Snob" is famous Russian media project, positioning itself as a space for an international community of successful professionals. Its printed version, a magazine of the same name, is published 6 times a year. It publishes essays, special investigations, confessions, interviews, literary publications.

A snob in the modern sense often appears as an intellectual, a successful person with impeccable taste.

So maybe there are positive features in snobbery?

Snobs tend to strive to improve, to achieve more than they currently have. They cannot be called inert people, going with the flow.
Such people try to surround themselves with beautiful things, quality food, successful people.
Snobs are forced to develop intellectually: they read books, visit theaters, museums, exhibitions.

Snobbery is a personality trait that pushes to new achievements, which are designed to secure a place in the sun.

Is it bad to strive for success, education, even if the list of goals is taken from a fashion magazine?

Everything would be fine, but even striving for self-improvement, snobs value not the essence of things, but their "label".

Brief Summary

: if the word "snob" today is perceived not only in negative tones, then snobbery is interpreted (sometimes by its followers themselves) as a negative e.

There was even a special kind of snobs - antisnobs, pointing out to the rest of their snobbery. A bizarre play on words turns out, connoisseurs of the Russian language will contemptuously say:. Intellectual snobs!

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

What is snobbery?

For any society, stratification is characteristic - people belong to the upper and lower strata.

Snobbery- this is a phenomenon associated with the intentions and desires of those who belong to the lower strata of society to present themselves as representatives of the higher circles, noble estates. It is impossible to understand the meaning of this word without considering the concept of "snob", which exists in many languages of the world.

Snob- this is a person, a subject who has a desire to get into the high society by any means and means. Snobbery is the manner of behavior and the way of his thoughts, his worldview, characteristic of a snob. It manifests itself in the following:

in a deliberate demonstration by a person of his significance, importance and uniqueness;
in an emphatic expression of the manners characteristic of people from high society;
in false and artificial sophistication, manifested in: manner of dressing, behavior at the table, etiquette, culture of communication, etc.;
in ranking all people as belonging to the upper and lower strata and in the inability to communicate with everyone equally;
in the habit of a person to always teach others, give advice, criticize them and consider their point of view the only true one;
in admiring people from high society and carefully imitating their mannered behavior, way of life, habits and preferences, in a selective attitude towards people: disregard for those who occupy a lower position in society, and fawning over those whose circle of friends wants to enter;
in an effort to pass for a person with a high level of intellectual development or authority in any field of human knowledge;
strongly dependent on the opinions of others;
in the arrogance of a person based on the fact that he belongs to a special clan or collective;
in the snob's confidence that everyone should respect, love and appreciate him.

There are several optionsthe origin of this word:

In the 80s of the 18th century, a shoemaker or his apprentice was called a snob. This concept denoted a commoner who sought to adopt aristocratic manners.
The word "snob" refers to an earlier period and comes from the Latin abbreviation "s.nob." (from Latin " sine nobilitate"- ignoble origin). Snobs were called students who studied at Oxford and Cambridge universities, who had a non-noble origin. They were marked in the lists with this abbreviation, which meant a ban on their attending receptions, meetings, holidays, at which the king was supposed to be present. These students were much richer than the nobles, therefore, imitating them, they sought, the lack of a noble upbringing and secular manners, to make up for the simulated and complete bad taste of luxury. Such behavior later became known as snobbery.
According to the popular point of view, snobs in slang were called students of non-noble blood at Eton University in the 1810-1820s of the 19th century, who were opposed to students of noble birth (from the English "noble" - nobleman).

In the modern sense, the word "snobbery" has been used in vocabulary since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Causes and signs of snobbery

Snobbery is not an innate personality trait. His appearance is due to various reasons.:

parental attitudes and family values, among which an important place belonged to snobbery;
the desire to escape from the outback, the provinces and become a city dweller;
the impact on the person of the work team, which is saturated with snobbish views;
manifestations of selfish character traits, when a person fundamentally ignores the needs and emotions of others;
limited and inflexible thinking, outlook, which leads to the formation of narrow views and attaching importance and value to a certain manner of behavior and character traits;
very low self-esteem and attempts by a person to unnaturally raise his status in the eyes of the public, humiliating and offending others.

Signs of snobbery:

unreasonable ambition, arrogance and arrogance of a snob, repelling other people from him and causing discontent;
a person's point of view about his own exclusivity and the conviction that he deserves more respect than all other people;
exalting oneself over others;
lack of empathy and empathy for the problems of others;
a dismissive attitude towards those who do not correspond to the ideas and level of intellectual development of the snob;
playing in public, demonstrative sophistication;
unshakable conviction in one's own rightness;
attributing oneself to the representatives of the elite, the beau monde, the upper class, a special clan;
unequal attitude towards people of different status in society;
violation of decency, bad taste, tactless and inadequate behavior in society.

Types of snobbery depends on the sphere of human activity in which it develops:

Aesthetic;
Intellectual;
Professional;
The snobbery of the elite, the rich, people of special status in society.

Is being a snob good or bad?

The word "snobbery" has had a negative connotation ever since its first use. Snobs have many negative properties of the human character. It is generally accepted in society that being a snob is bad and ugly. After all, they often behave inappropriately. The simplicity and sincerity of human communication, both with superiors and with subordinates, is not peculiar to them and is unnatural. They always divide people in close circle into worthy and unworthy of their attention. The only nuance with which the use of the word "snobbery" in recent times is associated is giving it some sarcasm, a small amount of irony. There are many people in the modern world who are happy and proud to call themselves snobs.

Psychological science considers a snob as a person whose visual vector predominates. They are aesthetes, subtle connoisseurs of all that is beautiful, surrounding themselves with beautiful objects and lovely interlocutors. They know how to see the beauty of the world around them, they are regular visitors to museums, various exhibitions, beauty contests, theaters and art galleries. They are disgusted with various forms of manifestation of ignorance, the fruits of low-grade creativity and informal trends in art. This is a virtue, a positive feature of snobbery and leads to adverse consequences.

Every snob considers himself to be a special, priority social stratum, cream of society. Referring themselves to the elite, the highest rank, all those who go beyond this circle, snobs do not put in anything, trying to humiliate and prove their wretchedness and failure. They call other people second-rate, unworthy of respect and worthless. Everything new, non-standard, unusual, contrary to their usual view, they vehemently condemn and reject. They convince everyone that only the classics in culture and customs that have been established over the centuries can be awarded the attention of a modern cultured and educated person. Despite the fact that their personal intellectual knowledge in the field of cultural studies is very insignificant. A snob is a rather pretentious type of person, but with a very miserable inner potential and energy.

Rules of conduct with a snob:

When meeting a person who is dismissive of you, trying to humiliate or insult you, try not to confront or communicate with him. He will not accept an explanation for his wrongness, and if you pay your attention to him, this will lead you to mental distress and devastation, which is not a reasonable solution in this situation.
Try to take it with a little humor, as temporary unpleasant weather conditions.
Dignity and adequate behavior are your main weapons in a fight with a snob.
Never stoop to insults and the level of the enemy.

Snob and prude - the same thing?

These are two words with completely different meanings. Their only similarity is that both of them are dismissive of others and exalt themselves above others.

Distinctive features of these two concepts are presented in the table.

Snob	Hypocrite
sincere belief in one's superiority, exclusivity, higher moral purity, culture in comparison with other people is characteristic	characterized by the absence of any norms that he follows
the desire to communicate with the upper strata of society, imitation of them and every effort to meet their standards and standards	all the claims of the hypocrite relate to other people whom he teaches, whom he gives instructions and makes comments on their behavior, but he himself does not strive for the best, for improvement and development
lives in accordance with certain norms and tries to communicate only with those who comply with these norms	A two-faced, hypocritical person who does one thing himself and teaches others to live differently, he has double standards
tries to humiliate others in order to raise personal self-esteem	does not notice his mistakes, but always points out sins and misbehavior to other people
has a sense of beauty and strives for development	demonstrates in public his feigned righteousness, innocence, high intellectual abilities and good taste, in fact, he does not possess any of these

AT important! Snobs present themselves as more highly educated, intelligent and cultured people. In the professional field of activity, snobbery often manifests itself through star fever. The origin of falsehood, megalomania, boasting, pomposity, arrogance and conviction of one's superiority are the main reasons underlying the effect of snobbery.

Many people assume that a snob is an arrogant person who finds himself superior to others for some reason, takes pride in it, and blatantly demonstrates his superiority. Other people usually find his demeanor repulsive, as it is unpleasant for them to see an obvious and unreasonable underestimation of their own material, intellectual, cultural or other level. The main personal quality of a snob can be called pride and pride, directed towards vanity.

Who is a snob?

A snob is a person prone to narcissism, possessing delusions of grandeur and worshiping what, in his opinion, belongs to the high and prestigious. It is characteristic of him to exaggerate the significance of some things.

The snob very carefully observes the style rules of the circle of people to which he wants to relate. At the same time, he sincerely believes that he most subtly and correctly understands all the requirements of characteristic fashion. Snob behaviors boil down to admiration for what the elite values. But objects or works of art are recognized not because of their true value, but because their properties are understood by representatives of the upper class, who need to be like.

The snob feels the need to enjoy his own importance. But this is impossible alone, as he feels the need to stand out from others. In addition, weak-minded people are not able to be alone with themselves for a long time.

What is characteristic of a snob personality?

It is common for a snob to end a relationship with a person who does not act according to the inflated standards he requires. At the same time, if a representative of a high class, to whom the proud person also wants to relate, also makes a similar mistake, then this goes unnoticed. That is, a snob breaks off relations with a good and smart person if he buys products in the market, and not in an elite supermarket. But at the same time, if a famous person whom the proud man imitates does the same, then the hypocrite confirms the correctness of his choice. It is common for a snob to exaggerate the importance of the system of division into classes in society.

Other people are usually not even going to compete with him or prove their superiority, and before he appears, they don’t even know that something is wrong with them. The snob experiences an intuitive desire to develop a flawed feeling in acquaintances and relatives and rise at their expense.

How does a snob choose his circle of acquaintances?

At the same time, it cannot be said that the snob is dishonest in his actions, since he actually considers himself better than others. This person believes that his knowledge is special, his manners are refined, his taste is refined, or his origin is more noble than other people. The snob does not maintain relationships with acquaintances who do not "hold out" to his level, and if such people accidentally fall into his environment, he cuts off all contacts with them.

It is very important for a snob to be superior to other people in some way, so such a person can first pay attention to what the majority does not have and draw his own conclusions about their failure. After that, he deliberately demonstrates his superiority, creating in the minds of acquaintances the illusion of the need to possess the same that he has. Due to the lack of such a criterion in people, the snob behind the scenes indicates (by gestures, facial expressions, actions) their low status. The snob's manner of communication is to look past the interlocutor, filtering words through his teeth.

What is a snob proud of?

Talent, a large amount of money, connections with high-ranking people, and so on can act as a subject of pride. There are also reverse cases, when the snob clearly demonstrates his superiority in the ability to possess something less than his acquaintances, or simply different. By and large, the snob is absolutely indifferent to what the advantage is. His manner of communication is to present his views and property as the most correct in any situation.

Many examples can be given:

A laptop is better than a desktop computer.
An outdated and simple phone model is preferable to a new and cutting-edge one.
A house outside the city is better than an apartment in an elite central area (it happens vice versa).
More modern equipment is better than the one that was bought even a year ago.
Antique items are valued above any other.
A small car is better than a big one because it is more manoeuvrable.
An expensive large car is better than a small one, as it is more prestigious, and so on.

Varieties of snobs

Many people know the preference for high-quality branded items over ordinary consumer goods. But it is not always possible or even a desire to purchase, for example, a leather belt of a prestigious and best brand. A reasonable decision is to buy a medium-level brand product of the same functionality, which is made by a person who is adequate in his actions. And society fully accepts his choice.

But there is a certain type of people who literally worship brands. Usually these individuals have a considerable inferiority complex. They believe that even an ordinary, even low-quality thing with a label will be bought than a completely natural and decent thing, but without it. Such people increase their own importance in their own eyes, acquiring more and more luxury brand products.

There is also snobbery, based on an unshakable belief in superiority in mental qualities or external attractiveness. It happens that this happens on a religious level, as adherents of the correct religion go to Paradise, and everyone else goes to Hell. Or the feeling of superiority arises in relation to people with dark skin color or to the inhabitants of third world countries. Such a person and society are not in harmonious relations, because the person experiences an internal protest against his origin.

Snobbery in art is manifested in the assertion that a person from the outside is not capable of evaluating a real work. As if this is common sense, but in fact a real creator creates something at the behest of the inner voice. And a connoisseur or an intelligent person who is interested in art can see something for himself in a work, feel it, without having any specific knowledge.

History of occurrence

The concept of "snob" originated in England and meant a person of the profession "small shoemaker". Then this word began to be called individuals who want to join high society and rub themselves into the environment of aristocrats. At that time, the hypocrite did not have the appropriate taste in clothes, which was very noticeable. But gradually this quality disappeared, as a modern snob is a person who looks fashionable and stylish.

The type of "English snob" appeared in Great Britain in the Victorian era as a result of the emergence of a commercial aristocracy - a new social class. Its representatives are characterized not by noble origin, but by significance in the political and economic spheres. At that time, aristocrats and landowners had significant influence, but the new class was striving in every possible way to acquire the appropriate status.

A snob is just an upstart?

One cannot call a snob an ordinary upstart simply because he takes great care to keep secret all information about his lowly origin. Moreover, only a snob can think so, since all his acquaintances do not at all believe that any problem requiring concealment is connected with their social status.

This is also evidenced by his belief in his uniqueness and conviction in the right to occupy a high position. But famous people, by and large, do not interest him as a person, since he only needs from them belonging to a high class.

For example, a careerist may try to communicate with rich and successful people in order to learn from them their knowledge and experience, to establish relationships that may contribute to career advancement, to make new acquaintances. But the snob believes that he already relates to noble people, so he should communicate only with them. It is as if he plays a role in the theater, creating scenery for himself.

Snob-intellectual, cultural and musical pride

There is such a variety as the snobbish intellectual, which appeared in the 20th century. This is true of contemporary British society as well. Such snobbery is based on special mental abilities, wonderful refined taste. A person who understands wine (considers himself to be such) is considered as a kind of intellectual snobbery. He believes that his knowledge and taste are special.

There is also a cultural snob. This is a person who understands culture, literature, art, has an encyclopedic mind, visits art galleries.

A musical snob is a proud person who is deeply passionate about music and knows a lot about it. He buys CDs in large quantities, attends concerts, follows the latest trends, understands musical trends, is always aware of the release of new albums and looks forward to them. Such a person is the most harmless of all kinds of snobs. His interlocutors for many hours of conversations about reviews, compositions and other things are mostly on the Internet. In fact, it cannot be said that a snob is a fully intelligent person, since he only creates the appearance of such.

Fashionable, office and snob-bourgeois

There are snobs who have significant material wealth, allowing them to acquire things that are not available to many. Buy exclusive goods only for the prestige of owning them snob-bourgeois.

A fashionable snob is a person who is interested in fashionable and expensive clothes of famous brands. Such people disapprove of the owners of simple and inexpensive things.

A person holding intermediate management positions (deputy chief, head of department) can be defined as an office snob. The meaning of this concept is in admiration for leadership and an arrogant attitude towards subordinate colleagues.

The British themselves are considered an arrogant nation, so they are often accused of snobbery due to excessive self-confidence. For modern British society, the manifestation of snobbery in any social class in relation to representatives of the lower class is characteristic.

Who is a snob?

What is characteristic of a snob personality?

How does a snob choose his circle of acquaintances?

What is a snob proud of?

Many examples can be given:

A laptop is better than a desktop computer.
An outdated and simple phone model is preferable to a new and cutting-edge one.
A house outside the city is better than an apartment in an elite central area (it happens vice versa).
More modern equipment is better than the one that was bought even a year ago.
Antique items are valued above any other.
A small car is better than a big one because it is more manoeuvrable.
An expensive large car is better than a small one, as it is more prestigious, and so on.

Varieties of snobs

History of occurrence

A snob is just an upstart?

Snob-intellectual, cultural and musical pride

There is also a cultural snob. This is a person who understands culture, literature, art, has an encyclopedic mind, visits art galleries.

Fashionable, office and snob-bourgeois

There are snobs who have significant material wealth, allowing them to acquire things that are not available to many. Buy exclusive goods only for the prestige of owning them snob-bourgeois.

A fashionable snob is a person who is interested in fashionable and expensive clothes of famous brands. Such people disapprove of the owners of simple and inexpensive things.

Today in our life the concept of "snobbery" is not used often, rather it is considered more bookish than colloquial. Nevertheless, we encounter snobs every day in different areas of life, and no matter under what conditions this happens, in the process of communicating with them, one constantly feels false, as if this is not a person, but a character in a film or book that he tries on. new role. These people often push away, although they themselves do not notice what effect they produce on others, considering themselves a step above most people.

If we turn to history, the concept of "snob" first appeared in England, and it denoted the profession of "small shoemaker". After that, this word began to be used to characterize people who aspire to join high society and revere the aristocrats. What is the characteristic of snobbery today, who is a snob and how to distinguish it - our article is devoted to the answers to these questions.

Snobbery is...

In the classical sense, snobbery is the desire and inclination of a person to imitate the tastes and manners of the "upper class", to strive to get into this circle of friends and disparagingly treats all other people, deliberately humiliating their dignity and elevating himself with far-fetched refined taste and interests.

The main feature of snobbery is arrogance, manifested in ridicule of others. Moreover, the presence of snobbery in a person's character is considered an indicator of his internal inferiority and mediocrity, although outwardly this fact is masked by refined manners of behavior.

Snobbery manifests itself in various forms and spheres of life. The following types of it are known: intellectual or professional, everyday, social and cultural, snobbery by origin, and so on.

For example, cultural snobbery is manifested not in the assessment of the aesthetic perception of the picture, but exclusively in the assessment of the author of the work and his authority in the circles of “art connoisseurs”. As an example of a kind of intellectual snobbery, a person is considered who, in his opinion, understands wine. Although, in fact, his opinion is not based on personal preferences, but only on the opinion of "authoritative" people, to the circle of which he wants to include himself.

Often people confuse snobbery with hypocrisy, but still these concepts are not identical. Snobbery is distinguished by the fact that a person is not fully aware that he lives in the illusions of his own "I" and only tries to pass himself off as an intellectual who stands above those around him. Often life develops in such a way that snobs get so used to these thoughts that they begin to seriously believe in their significance and honorable position in society.

True, in order to try to achieve the desired heights in practice and stop passing off other people's thoughts and behaviors as their own, such a person is not ready to do anything. Snobbery is limited to imitation. A person does not want to be an individual, it is enough for him to create an illusion in the eyes of others in order to feel special. Everything in his life is reduced to the outer shell, while the filling has no meaning.

It is believed that snobbery is most inherent in British society, it manifests itself in all areas, especially with regard to social status.

Snob - who is it?

Given the typical features of snobbery, it will not be difficult to draw a portrait of a modern snob.

A snob is a person who considers himself, and not those around him, to be the owner of high taste and intelligence. He tries to emphasize as much as possible the outward belonging to that society, to which, in fact, he has no relation. Snob is distinguished by arrogance and swagger. This concept has 3 synonyms: proud, show off and poseur. All of them include similar traits of a person's character, but are used with different emotional overtones, for example, characterizing the "arrogance" of a person.

The snob carefully guards his image and sincerely believes that he looks absolutely natural in this. He simply needs people around who are ready to listen to his "special" opinion, because in solitude he himself feels his own falsity.

But the snob also treats the environment selectively, is able to easily stop communicating with those who do not act according to the standards adopted by him, although this only applies to people “on a step below”. If this concerns a representative of the "upper class", then the snob will not attach any importance to this, because the "upper class" has undeniable authority for him.

The snob, at the first opportunity, tries to emphasize his merits in contrast with other people. He likes to point out what most people don't have, while showing disdain for his appearance. Moreover, for a snob, it doesn’t matter what exactly his advantage will be, only the fact itself is important.

From the outside, it seems that the life of a snob comes down to the fact that he seems to be playing in the theater, creating images and scenery around him. It is important for him that others consider him a chosen person and belonging to the highest circles, then he himself will feel his own nobility, not worrying that inside himself he is most likely an insecure and not interesting person without his own judgments and goals in life .

Distinctive features of a snob or how to recognize snobbery

Although a fairly detailed description of a snob has already been presented above, in real life it is not so easy to recognize him. But nevertheless, distinctive features are known that help to determine snobbery in the character of the interlocutor.

If a person's own name seems insufficient for his "high" nature, then you have a snob. For example, this manifests itself if Ira perceives her own name only as "Irena", and Masha - only "Marie" and nothing else.
If a person has reached relatives living in the 15th century in studying the pedigree, and does not plan to stop there, believing that he is a representative of blue blood, this is not a simple desire to find out his roots, but rather a kind of snobbery.
Disdainful attitude towards compatriots and praise of foreigners in a conversation indicate that your interlocutor is a snob.
If a person tries to prove that people in the world live better than you and their happiness is full-fledged happiness, especially if by doing this he seeks to belittle your event, do not hesitate - snobbery speaks in this person.
If a photo with a celebrity hangs in an honorable and prominent place in the house and a lot of attention is paid to this fact, then this characterizes the owner of the house as a snob who wants to flaunt the importance of his personality in such an unoriginal way.

Snob considers himself a representative of "blue" blood

These are far from all the distinctive features of a snob that are striking when communicating, but still typical and characteristic. The conclusion suggests itself as follows: no matter how he covers his own life with decorations, the snob will still remain a person who cannot feel the fullness of life. He does not receive full enjoyment, because he cannot and does not know how to either relax or realize himself without regard to others. And this “lack of happiness”, the incompleteness of life is what pushes this person to the manifestation of snobbery, as to some kind of compensation.

When communicating with a snob, especially if this communication involves a protracted nature, use the following rules to prevent the snob from dropping your dignity, but at the same time avoid direct conflict with him.

First of all, try to find common topics for conversation with him that can somehow “relax” the interlocutor and translate the conversation into a pleasant channel for both. Also, don't live up to the snob's expectations and don't typically respond to his desire to "belittle" your dignity.

Competent behavior in this matter will only advantageously emphasize your positive aspects, which the snob will diligently belittle. But still, it is worth avoiding conflicting topics of conversation, and if it is not possible to establish communication in a positive way, then it is better to find a reason to leave at all than to try to prove something to a person who lives with other people's thoughts and goals.

Snobbery is, of course, a negative trait of a person's character. But it is important to remember that fighting him, you can turn into an anti-snob. An antisnob is a person who looks for traits of snobbery in others and points specifically to them. Also, antisnobs like to emphasize that they are completely different people, but they do it so often that they do not notice how they themselves become snobs.