poshen

present singular third person poshens · participle present poshening · participle past poshened · past poshened

1. UKambitransitiveTo make or become posh, to posh up

   Most people tend to poshen up their accent if they go for a job interview and a lot of us have a Sunday-best voice for when we answer the phone or talk to the doctor. We save our real accent for our family and friends.

   2005, Judith Holder, It's Grim Up North, page 99

   1 more example

   ([…] He's a grammar-school lad on the make, who poshened up at Cambridge and now can't speak normal, which makes him sound ludicrous when he tries. Along the way he also poshened up his team, dumping Fulham to follow Chelsea.)

   1997, New Statesman, volume 126, numbers 4316-4327, page 35