July 21, 1999

manner/manor born, to the

I'm wondering about the phrase "to the manor (manner) born." I have always been under the impression "manor" is the original, and correct word, signifying a person who naturally understood or readily adapted to highfalutin' ways. However, I see "manner" more and more often, normally in the press. I suppose they both are indicative of the same meaning, but which is most accurate in how the phrase originally came about?

This time The Press gets it right.

The first thing to note is that this is not some random phrase which we have to puzzle out, but a Literary Allusion, from the WotD's favorite alludee, Shakespeare. In Hamlet, when the prince is observing the drunkenness common at Elsinore, he complains, "But to my mind--though I am native here,/And to the manner born--it is a custom/More honor'd in the the breach than the observance" (Hamlet I.iv.14ff).

What Hamlet meant here is that he is destined or accustomed from birth to the practice of heavy drinking. The phrase is often used in a sense like this ('accustomed to (a specified practice) since birth', that is), or often somewhat more broadly meaning 'admirably well suited for (something specified)'.

The common variant to the manor born is found chiefly in the sense 'being a member of the upper class', that is, born on a landed estate. Since the "manor" variant is perfectly sensible (more sensible in this meaning than the "manner" version, in fact) and is phonetically identical to the Shakespearean original, it is no surprise that this has become widespread. An example: "Kay...should have got married quietly in City Hall, instead of making Harald, who was not to the manor born, try to carry off a wedding in J.P. Morgan's church" (Mary McCarthy, The Group). A more recent example: "I get tired of actors 'to the manor born' getting all the publicity at the expense of other players who put their heart and grueling hard work into creating an inspiring performance" (Entertainment Weekly, 1999).

One may regard this sort of thing in several ways. It could be considered a punning use, which is possible only if you think that the writer knows his or her Shakespeare and is being deliberate. It could be considered an error, if you think that the writer is ignorant of Shakespeare. Or, you could consider it a new use in a different sense from the original. Most commentators call it a mistake.