‘Pardon’ is way better than ‘what’

IT’S A debate that has long divided the classes: Whether to say “what?” or “pardon” when asking someone to repeat themselves.

Among the upper echelons, the favoured term has always been “what?”, with “pardon” widely deemed to be worse than swearing.

But, decades after novelist Nancy Mitford famously branded “what” as “U” (upper class) and “pardon” as “non-U” (middle class), it seems the tide has turned.

Upper-class bible The Tatler has deemed “pardon” to be the more acceptable phrase, describing it as “refined” and “well-mannered”, while “what” is likely “to be snapped or even roared”, and can leave the speaker looking “arrogant”.

The society magazine said: “Children find it especially hard to deliver a polished “what” and are extremely likely to appear spoilt and even thuggish.

“And so, although accepted high-born wisdom tells us that ‘what’ is the way forward, we recommend approaching it with caution.”

However, The Tatler admits its decision will “horrify” some.

In her book Class, novelist Jilly Cooper confessed: “I once heard my son regaling his friends, ‘Mummy says that pardon is a much worse word than f***’.”

For those who cannot bring themselves to utter “pardon”, other terms deemed to be socially acceptable include: “Sorry?”, “Eh”, “Could you repeat that?” and “Hm?”