Learn English – Difference between “Upscale”, “high-toned/tony”, “fancy”, “high-end”, “select”, and “exclusive”

usagevocabulary

Can these terms denoting something expensive, elegant and/or fashionable be used just about interchangeably, or are there any subtle differences to them?

E.g.

Alone in a tony restaurant…source

In a high toned restaurant…source

People have to be taught how to behave or dress in a fancy restaurant.source

The novel's claustrophobic premise is the gathering of two couples for dinner in a high end restaurant.source

We had a leisurely dinner in an exclusive restaurant…source

One could assume they were in an upscale restaurant…source

Dinner at a select restaurant…source>/

Best Answer

The first four examples and upscale have a roughly identical meaning, which is expensive and of high quality, being typically patronized by the wealthy and notable. (Admittedly I had to look up tony, because it's not common in AmE.)

The remaining, exclusive means something slightly different.

Exclusive implies that it is difficult to get a reservation due to a degree of discrimination on the part of the management. Usually this is due to the extreme popularity of the restaurant, leading to a situation where the remaining tables can only be gotten by people who are of some sort of elite status (celebrities, wealthy, etc.). This is a ploy by the management to make their restaurant seem more desirable by dint of their famous clientele.

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