# Why did Babbitt's wife object to him using the word 'tux' in Sinclair Lewis's book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146 "2026-03-02T20:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/1 "2026-03-02T20:19:46Z")
Reading ‘Babbitt’ and I came across this: ”And oh, Georgie, I do wish you wouldn’t say ‘Tux.’ It’s ‘dinner-jacket.’” What was her objection? She goes on to worry what would happen if a neighbor were to hear him say ‘tux’ –why would this be a problem in the 1920s? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/2 "2026-03-02T20:26:27Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > What was her objection? A tuxedo refers to the full ensemble. A dinner-jacket is just the jacket portion. People went full tuxedo for major occasions like funerals, but if going out to dinner might merely wear the dinner-jacket with nice, but technically non-tuxedo clothes (i.e. non-black trousers or some such). She’s just a prescriptivist. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/3 "2026-03-02T20:28:09Z")
thanks. As someone who really doesn’t wear either, it seemed to me I was missing something much more significant here. Especially when she worried what the neighbors would say. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/4 "2026-03-02T20:29:45Z")
The OED’s first reference to the word “tux” is in 1922 (although “tuxedo” dates from several decades earlier). It was new / modern slang, in an era that valued formal speech and saw slang as lower-class. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/5 "2026-03-02T20:31:40Z")
I kind of think that worrying about what the neighbors would say was the whole point. After this book came out, “Babbitt” became shorthand for being ultra-conventional and culturally empty. There’s a dance routine between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in Ziegfeld Follies (1945) called “The Babbitt and the Bromide” that illustrates the character type pretty well . ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/6 "2026-03-02T22:20:22Z")
Because people who wore tuxedos or dinner jackets should know the difference between a tuxedo and a dinner jacket. Babbit’s wife was afraid he would expose his ignorance of such high society details (and embarrass her.) ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/7 "2026-03-02T22:59:22Z")
It is “Non-U.” > **[U and non-U English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_and_non-U_English)** > > U and non-U English usage, where "U" stands for upper class and "non-U" represents the aspiring middle classes, was part of the terminology of popular discourse of social dialects (sociolects) in Britain in the 1950s. The different vocabularies often appeared counter-intuitive, with the middle classes preferring "fancy" or fashionable words, even neologisms and often euphemisms, in attempts to make themselves sound more refined ("posher than posh") and the upper classes using plain and tradit... Specific cite for “tuxedo”: [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/368436984/](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/368436984/) Of course this sort of rule is not only snobbish, quite self-consciously so, but also the specifics rapidly become out of date. For all I know, the truly posh now all say “tuxedo” and think “dinner jacket” makes someone sound lower-class. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/8 "2026-03-02T23:15:07Z")
This place always amazes me with way more than I was expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/9 "2026-03-02T23:15:15Z")
Rath—arrrr. (In posh speak) My Daddy was a guy who was a stickler for mens wear being called what it was, A sport coat and dress jacket were not the same. Never to be confused. A Tuxedo was for fancy dress wear. A sport jacket, next dressiest. A coat coat was for warmth. (Which could be dressy or not so much) He had a bunch of rules about these things. Yes, it’s a class distinction in Babbitt. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/10 "2026-03-02T23:50:45Z")
Of course a tuxedo is merely _semi_-formal wear. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/11 "2026-03-03T00:00:20Z")
I don’t care what word he used; that’s no excuse to cut someone’s dick off. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/12 "2026-03-03T19:41:18Z")
I had thought her objection was that “tux” was dreadfully informal, and that “dinner jacket” was the high class term used in society. I may reread the the book for potential new insights. “Arrowsmith” was my favorite Sinclair Lewis book. Though the hero should never have fooled around on Leora. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/13 "2026-03-03T20:46:25Z")
I haven’t read this since high school, and I’d pretty much forgotten all of it. Enjoying it much more this time around, though I find myself wondering about a lot of the language now than I did back then. Like his several references to the ‘sleeping porch.’ Had to look up that one, as I was unfamiliar with the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/14 "2026-03-03T20:55:41Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I had thought her objection was that “tux” was dreadfully informal, and that “dinner jacket” was the high class term used in society. Regarding this, in one episode of Downton Abbey, Lord Grantham’s evening tailcoat wasn’t in suitable condition to be worn one evening for family dinner. (The family normally ate dinner together dressed formally.) so he decided to break out his new tuxedo, something he heard about from the Prince of Wales. When he sat down at the table, his mother, the Dowager Countess, said something about him coming to dinner in his pajamas. Remember that a tuxedo was considered only semi formal dress. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/15 "2026-03-04T01:15:49Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > Like his several references to the ‘sleeping porch.’ A covered porch with screens for sleeping in the summer (no air conditioning), right? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/16 "2026-03-04T01:36:54Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I don’t care what word he used; that’s no excuse to cut someone’s dick off. Bobbitt, but close! ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/17 "2026-03-04T02:08:16Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > A covered porch with screens for sleeping in the summer (no air conditioning), right? Yes, though he sleeps there when it’s still too cold, because apparently having one is ‘up-to-date’ and he’s terribly proud of having one. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/18 "2026-03-04T02:09:26Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I don’t care what word he used; that’s no excuse to cut someone’s dick off. This took me longer to get than it should have, but I laughed harder than I should have once I got it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/19 "2026-03-04T03:28:21Z")
Deleted ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146/20 "2026-03-04T04:59:55Z")
I think the real answer is that “tuxedo” is a term that Americans used to refer to the dinner jacket ensemble, which Brits (and no doubt some snobbish Americans) considered declasse. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Of course a tuxedo is merely _semi_-formal wear. If you ask Miss Manners, she’d tell you that on a invitation, “formal” meant white tie, and “informal” meant black tie (ie, tuxedo). [Black tie vs. white tie.](https://www.hockerty.com/en-us/blog/black-tie-vs-white-tie-attire) > [@Tamerlane](#): > > but if going out to dinner might merely wear the dinner-jacket with nice, but technically non-tuxedo clothes (i.e. non-black trousers or some such). I think this would be a tremendous faux-pas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-babbitts-wife-object-to-him-using-the-word-tux-in-sinclair-lewiss-book/1028146.md?page=2)