in good taste
3
3.9
- idiom
:
de buen gusto
- Her clothes and makeup were moderate and in good taste.
- always in good taste
You know, we're trained, we're trained by society to understand what's in good taste and what's in bad taste.
- You know, we're trained, we're trained by society to understand what's in good taste and what's in bad taste.
- She must entertain in good taste and smart style because according to Tucker quote Madam Walker style of big time entertaining is no longer fashionable.
Examples
-
His point was relevant at the time, and it was done very respectfully and in good taste for the moment.
Blog text (10) -
Do you think that is in good taste?
Blog text (30) -
- I need to keep it in good taste.
-
Always like things to be in good taste.
-
Of course the effect of silver is always in good taste.
-
Please keep your comments civil and in good taste.
Blog text (5) -
Yet my clothes were in good taste, and my manners were beyond criticism.
Fiction book (1995) -
A jewel should be in good taste and unpretentious.
Fiction book (1991) -
It's tactful, respectful of one's elders and one's company, and in good taste.
Blog text (12) -
The decor at the event was simple yet elegant, all done in good taste.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Very good in quality, appearance, or skill
41
3.9
Showing good style and polite manners
Antonyms
How Tasteful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is transparently compositional: 'taste' (judgment about what is attractive or appropriate) modified by 'good' yields the concept of appropriate/refined judgment, and the preposition 'in' indicates being within that category. This structure and sense are common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase in good taste comes from the idea of taste as the sense that tells us if food or other things are pleasant. Imagine a host tasting food and choosing calm decorations and gentle jokes; those choices are in good taste, so today the phrase means something is 'proper', 'polite', or 'stylish'.