Antedating of "Social Climbing"

[Fred Shapiro]

social climbing (OED 1924)

1922 H. L. Mencken in _Smart Set_  Apr. 142 All the tales of social
climbing that I know of--and every _truly_ American story shows some
social climbing--overlook the basic fact that an American family which
aspires to rise must somehow rid itself ... of its original faith.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
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