The History of The Term The Upper Crust

3. Look through the history books and you’ll find any number of odd origins for commonly used terms, and the term “upper crust” may be no different. That said, this particular terms may not have a definite origin, but rather several possible ones. The first origin, as many commonly accept it to be, involves bread. Those thinking that “upper crust” refers to the top part of a loaf of bread may be thinking of an isolated instance of the terms from John Russell’s Boke of Nurture, circa 1460, which was one of the first printed books on household management. Translated into modern English, it states: “Take a loaf…and lay [a trencher] before your lord; lay four trenchers four-square, and another on the top. Take a loaf of light bread, pare the edges, cut the upper crust for your lord.” Of course, one problem with taking Russell’s text as the origin is that “upper crust” was only used to describe nobility as of the 19th century. It was only in the 19th century that another possible origin appeared, only this time the term was used to describe the human head or a hat. In 1826, The Sporting Magazine reported, “Tom completely tinkered his antagonist’s upper-crust.”

5. An honorable mention should go to Thomas Chandler Haliburton, who in his 1838 book The Clockmaker; or the sayings and doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville, wrote: “It was none o' your skim-milk parties, but superfine uppercrust real jam.” Not that we have any idea what that means. Looking to relive history’s greatest moments? Visit our online library at Oldreads for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.