These words refer to aggressive rudeness born of crude vulgarity or unashamed egotism. Effrontery indicates an insult to good manners by someone who is pushy or conceited: the effrontery to ask to woman how she felt when she first got word of the accident; the effrontery to ask the distinguished guests if they had read his book. As in these examples, the word often suggests offensive behaviour that comes as a shock or surprise, but this is not always the case: I knew what he wanted and was only waiting to see if he would have the effrontery to put it into words. Impertinence is a shade milder than effrontery , suggesting an offence to good manners that results from action that is out of place of from an uncalled-for remark: his impertinence in coming to the party uninvited; her impertinence in asking about details of our private life. As in the last example, the word can sometimes point to a prying busybody who meddles in the affairs of others. In this case the stress is on aggressiveness rather than on arrogance. At its mildest the word can point to a mere lack of relevance: It is an impertinence in scholarly work to insist on assigning blame rather than analyzing actual conditions in an objective way. Usually, however, the word does suggest impropriety or a lack of breeding.

Churlishness emphasizes this last possibility of impertinence , concentrating on grossly ill-mannered behaviour that is the result of a crude, coarse or vulgar background. This use reflects the word’s derivation from a root referring to a low-born man or one of the lowest rank. In addition, churlishness is the most extreme and disapproving of these words, implying an accompanying manner that is surly, contentious, hostile and drastically inconsiderate: Both his constant quarrels with the neighbours and his chronic mistreatment of his children attested amply to his inescapable churlishness . Ill breeding may sometimes be absent as an implication: the brazen churlishness of the woman in the complaints department. Impudence relates more closely to effrontery , pointing to aggressive behaviour that is not restrained by considerations of taste or courtesy. The word’s special stress, however, is on a contemptuous or obnoxious arrogance: the impudence to suggest that his private-school background made him better qualified for the job than applicants from the state school. As can be seen, impudence and churlishness contrast strongly in that churlishness can indicate a low or coarse background whereas impudence can indicate a supposedly superior background. Impudence contrasts with effrontery and impertinence in that this pair often points to specific acts; furthermore, these acts could conceivably be inadvertent. Impudence , however, points to an insufferable manner that is reflected in deliberate insolence: an impertinence that resulted mostly from sheer ignorance rather than from outright impudence .