Usage examples (34)

• Her own shabby-genteel clothing fit in perfectly here, giving her no cause for embarrassment.
• "I look, and to be frank, my dear boy, I must say that you look more shabby-genteel than otherwise."
• "Pleasant," the phouka said, looking around at the boulevard trees, the bits of lawn, and the shabby-genteel old houses.
• "I am about to go away by your train," he said, without waiting for me to speak or remarking my shabby-genteel expression of heroism.