Dictionary

lanyard class en · NOUN

Etymology

Coined with reference to the lanyards that civil servants commonly wear to display their identification badges.

Meanings

1. (UK, derogatory) Civil servants as a group, viewed as inept, officious, or excessively concerned with social justice.
   • Therapy English, by contrast, is the language of the HR department, the corporate away-day, the NGO workshop, the elite university, the lanyard class. 2026 June 19, Christopher Gage, “The sad death of tabloid English”, in The Spectator:
   • The foot-dragging lanyard class – unelected, unaccountable, secretly ideological – thwarts policies they are paid to implement. 2025 June 28, Annabel Denham, “The real enemy isn't Palestine Action: it's the lanyard class”, in The Telegraph:
   • Finally, some vague understanding of who this lanyard class is in Findlay's mind emerged. After using a blanket term denigrating every public sector worker, he had homed in on diversity, inclusion and equality. 2026 April 16, Neil Mackay, “Why sneering at the 'lanyard class' demeans Scotland’s public servants”, in The Herald:

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