# "No better than she ought to be" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358 "2009-02-04T03:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358/21 "2011-12-05T01:26:10Z")
I read a lot of Marion Chesney novels, all set in the Regency period, and the phrase 'no better than she ought to be" is invariably used to refer to a prostitute, usually a woman kept as a mistress. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358/22 "2011-12-05T01:43:50Z")
I know this is an old thread, etc, but just thought it might be relevant to add a literary reference for this expression. In Dylan Thomas’ _Under Milk Wood_, Polly Garter (who is either the town prostitute, or is perhaps merely promiscuous), says (near the start of the play, where characters are introducing themselves): > [@](#): > > Me, Polly Garter, under the washing line, giving the breast in the garden to my bonny new baby. Nothing grows in our garden, only washing. And babies. And where’s their fathers live, my love? Over the hills and far away. > You’re looking up at me now. I know what you’re thinking, you poor little milky creature. You’re thinking, you’re no better than you should be, Polly, and that’s good enough for me. > Oh, isn’t life a terrible thing, thank God? The implication here seems to be that it means a person is unpretentious and not well-thought of, but not bad. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358/23 "2011-12-05T03:06:53Z")
I seem to remember reading somewhere that an old fashioned look is not\* old fashioned \*in the contemporary sense of being out of date but the look of someone who was born (made or fashioned) old ie with the wisdom of the ages in their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Barbiellla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@Barbiellla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbiellla)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358/24 "2020-02-23T22:42:12Z")
She was hurt by it ,and never really forgot it.when i asked her what it meant she could’nt explain what it meant .I was always curious about its meaning .She had been devorced before but then So had her husbands sister.This was in the 50’ /60’s.It made her withdrawn and depressed hearing this which was sad ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358/25 "2020-02-24T13:41:12Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **Barbiella**. This is an old thread, what we call on the SDMB a zombie. FWIW, my interpretation is that "no better than she should be"is a disparaging remark about a woman’s sexual morality - in this case, that your mother’s divorce meant she was promiscuous. If you are interested in a better answer, you might consider starting a new thread. Again, welcome. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-better-than-she-ought-to-be/484358.md?page=1)