Establishment

the Establishment

1. Any particular establishment (ruling class) that is construed as the sole one within a given context (such as a specific country).

   By the late 1780s, it was clear that many French had had it with the Establishment.

   • 2025 January 28, Paul Krugman, “Departing the New York Times. I left to stay true to my byline”, in The Contrarian‎^[1]:

     Maybe there was a time when readers would sit still for sober, dull opinion pieces — history’s most boring headline, “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative,” was the title of a Times op-ed — because they were seen as representing the views of The Establishment. And I have the feeling that Times management still thinks it’s living in that world. But in today’s wide-open information (and misinformation) environment, boring writing just vanishes without a trace.

19th century, borrowed from English establishment. Doublet of Etablissement.

• IPA^(key): /eˈstɛ.blɪʃ.mənt/, /ɛsˈtɛ-/, /-mɛnt/

Establishment n (strong, genitive Establishments, plural (rare) Establishments)

1. establishment (long-standing elite or authority group)

   Wer zweimal mit derselben pennt, gehört schon zum Establishment.

   Sleeping with the same woman twice already makes you a member of the establishment.

   (humorous slogan of the subversive left-wing community movement of the 1960s)