I Come Seeking Expertise!
Hello...brand new member who comes seeking knowledge! I have searched high and low for someone who can tell me about the "accent" used by many celebrities in the 1940's in films and so on.
It was a pretentious blend of a British/New England accent and used virtually in most comedies and musicals. Some seemed to use it in a quasi-serious way and some so exaggerated it to be extra hilarious.
Is there a word or name for this accent? Can anyone help? So far I've gotten "pretentious", Bostonian (almost), "tony", "yankee", "Received Pronunciation", "back eastern snobby" (like this one!) and Mid-Atlantic accent. While all of these are partial descriptors I think...none fit completely.
I just think with the gossip columnists of the day, these celebrities, especially the ones who exaggerated it so pretentiously...would never get away unscathed...LOL!
Help! and thanks in advance for anyone offering some insight!
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