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Origin
The 'drawer' in question here is the highest drawer of a bedroom chest of drawers. This was where Victorian gentry kept their most valuable items - jewelry, best clothes etc. The phrase 'top-drawer' was initially used to denote a person's level of social standing, based on their family background. Families were either 'top-drawer' or they weren't.
The earliest citation of the phrase that I can find comes from the English writer Horace Vachell, in the novel The hill, a romance of friendship, 1905:
"You'll find plenty of fellows abusing Harrow," he said quietly; "but take it from me, that the fault lies not in Harrow, but in them. Such boys, as a rule, do not come out of the top drawer."
Posted By: SCC 28 on December 11th 2012 at 09:49:22
Message Thread
- leading on from that book review below (General Chat) - Tricky Hawes, Dec 11, 09:48:09
- "out of the top drawer" (General Chat) - phrankin, Dec 11, 09:50:09
- Apparently it was where Victorian gentry (General Chat) - duke of york, Dec 11, 09:50:05
- ... (General Chat) - SCC 28, Dec 11, 09:49:22
- wow, you researched that pretty quickly (General Chat) - Tricky Hawes, Dec 11, 09:50:44
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