ghastly good taste

Interior decoration of mechanical perfection, lacking all life or connection to its owner. Furniture that you don't dare use, since actual use would destroy the design effect.

My aunt's house was furnished in ghastly good taste. She had plastic slipcovers on all the furniture so that we children wouldn't actually contact the fancy upholstery, and plastic runners on the carpets.

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ghastly good taste

Decor and furnishings that are untouched by human hands. You don't dare use it lest you spoil the effect. Plastic slipcovers, plastic 'authentic reproductions' and sterile decor all qualify as ghastly good taste.

My aunt's house was furnished in ghastly good taste. She had plastic slipcovers on top of the plastic slipcovers.

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Orchestra

"A symphony orchestra consists of one hundred egomaniacs, each of whom believes they play better than everyone else. The only thing uniting them is their common hatred of the conductor."--(My father was a professional symphonic musician; this was his definition.)

early 17th century: via Latin from Greek orkhēstra, from orkheisthai ‘to dance.’ Which doesn't make any sense, since everyone in an orchestra except the percussionist is sitting down.

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