upper crust

First known use as an idiom: 1836.

• "I judged from your remark about the diligence and industry of the high Parisian upper crust that it would have some point."
• "Some accents reveal the distinctive bray of the upper crust, but most are generic middle class."
• "“You ever see the movie Spotlight?” “About the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered the sexual abuse coverup in the Catholic Church?” “Yeah, exactly.” “No.” “Oh. Well, in that I played Ben Bradlee, Jr. And that character begins with the accent, because the real Bradlee is from Boston. But he's an upper-crust guy. [Boston accent] Not like some jamoke standing around Kelly's Tavern in, uh, Revere Beach, you know what I mean?” “Very good, John Slattery.” “[regular accent] Not bad, right? But I was talking to him.”"

• upper class
• the quality