Definition of "Chesterfieldian"
Chesterfieldian
noun
plural Chesterfieldians
adjective
comparative more Chesterfieldian, superlative most Chesterfieldian
In the style of the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, marked by brilliance, wit, and elegance in writing, and aristocratic assurance in life
Quotations
Lady Anne was very angry, both at herself and the Count; nevertheless, his perfect simplicity and sincerity, and the nonchalance with which he spoke, amused her as much as it vexed her; and, as poor Georgiana, after various efforts to subdue her risibility, was constrained to laugh outright, the features of Lady Anne admitted the Chesterfieldian smile, and she exclaimed, "Really, Count, you are the drollest man in the world, and say the oddest things in the world."
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLVIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 311
Casting my fortunes at Mrs. Thompson's, I soon became initiated into the etiquette and usage of that polite caravansary; and I now write of that era of two-pronged forks, and when “saveall” was the choicest dish, and the observances at the table not altogether Chesterfieldian.
1891, George Washington Cullum, Edward Singleton Holden, Charles Braden, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., page 617
And that is why the young man's manners are so near to Chesterfieldian perfection, why he can play with an artist's touch and expression, and why he actually does not understand the evils that surround us all.
1902, Bushrod Washington James, The political freshman, Bushrod Library, Philadelphia, page 197
On the one hand Sir John is a caricature of a Chesterfieldian aristocrat, clever, disdainful, mannered, coldly and discreetly sensual, careful of appearances, utterly selfish; on the other hand is mean and conniving, he plots for money, he pursues deadly enmities.
1967, Ross H. Dabney, Love and Property in the Novels of Dickens, University of California Press, page 28