From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin polite society/circles/companyin polite society/circles/companyPOLITEamong people who are considered to have a good education and correct social behaviour – often used humorously You can’t use words like that in polite company. → polite
Examples from the Corpus
in polite society/circles/company• You can't use words like that in polite company.• In the good old days of rampant dualism, the mind was rarely mentioned in polite society.• It was not the sort of thing you did in polite company.• It was obvious from the scenes that such behavior did not belong in polite society.• Trevor Proby is another, of course, but his notables should not be discussed in polite company.• With sad paradox, Mr Punch himself became the man in the Bateman cartoon, unwelcome in polite company.• Her passion for natural history became increasingly fashionable in polite society during the 17605. 