# Are You Pretentious? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975 "2000-11-20T16:32:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![degroof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba9def/32.png) [@degroof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/degroof)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/1 "2000-11-20T16:32:41Z")
You might be pretentious if… [ul] [li]…you’ve ever used the phrase “quintessential Rum Tum Tugger.”[/li][li]…you’ve actually participated in a heated argument over who makes the best home cappuccino machine.[/li][li]…you’ve ever referred to something you’ve purchased as “my art.”[/li][li]…you had the ringer on your cell phone reprogrammed to play your favorite passage from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.[/li][li]…you _have_ a favorite passage from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/2 "2000-11-20T16:47:10Z")
“Pretentious? _ **Moi?** _” ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/3 "2000-11-20T16:52:31Z")
Whew! I’m safe (though only because I don’t like music or coffe and I don’t know what a Rum Tum Tugger is). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/4 "2000-11-20T17:25:16Z")
Well, I AM an elitist snob, but pretentious? I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/5 "2000-11-20T17:30:03Z")
“The problem with being better than everyone else is that people tend to think you’re pretentious.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/6 "2000-11-20T17:33:18Z")
People tend to think I’m conceited, but that’s flaw, and, naturally, I have none. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/7 "2000-11-20T18:43:56Z")
Of course not. I really _am_ the quintessence of tastefully understated gentility. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/8 "2000-11-20T19:20:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rodd Hill \* > \*\*“Pretentious? _ **Moi?** _” \*\* Nahh, dropping French words into conversation/writing isn’t pretentious any more. Nowadays it’s German words you drop in for snob factor. viz:\* **lebensraum zeitgeist**[sub]A personal least favorite - I read every issue of Entertainment Weekly to see if I can find it. It’s always there.[/sub] **sturm und drang weltenschaung** (sp?) [sub]\*oh, yeah, Latin _never_ goes outta style for pretentiousness.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/9 "2000-11-20T19:30:24Z")
Jesus, I agree with your first three bullets, but trashing Wagner is just not right. I have several favorite passages from the Ring, by the way. MR ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/10 "2000-11-20T21:37:25Z")
I would answer that question. But I would never lower myself to talking to someone with les than 20 posts. hmph! ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/11 "2000-11-20T21:50:31Z")
Yes. But I’m willing to participate in an intervention. ---
**Author:** ![degroof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba9def/32.png) [@degroof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/degroof)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/12 "2000-11-20T22:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by oldscratch \* > \*\*I would answer that question. But I would never lower myself to talking to someone with les than 20 posts. hmph! \*\* Well, _I’ve_ never put much stock in the _quantity_ of posts. I consider _quality_ to be much more important. And _my_ posts are the finest, hand-crafted, designer original posts that money can buy. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/13 "2000-11-20T22:47:51Z")
Have I a God complex? Of course not. God has a BlackKnight complex. ---
**Author:** ![OrcaChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/14 "2000-11-20T22:51:28Z")
My chauffeur can beat the crap out of your chauffeur. ---
**Author:** ![SkinnyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@SkinnyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkinnyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/15 "2000-11-20T23:01:50Z")
Oh, how bourgeois this conversation is. (And damn you Rodd Hill for beating me to it!) [serious] Tygr, I really doubt anyone would drop the term lebensraum in a normal conversation if they knew where it came from. That is _not_ a word any German would want to hear used loosely. [/serious] OrcaChow, do you have any Grey Poupon left? If so, I will send my chauffeur’s _servant_ for it. ---
**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/16 "2000-11-20T23:08:41Z")
But why, SkinnyGuy…doesn’t it just mean “living room”, you know as in Den, Parlor, ect. 😉 Heh, I guess I must be pretenious, because I am forever dropping German into my conversations…but for real snob value, I use Korean! ---
**Author:** ![CanadianSue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@CanadianSue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanadianSue)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/17 "2000-11-20T23:37:15Z")
Nope, but boring ole me. Damn! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/18 "2000-11-21T03:37:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by degroof \* > **You might be pretentious if… > [li]…you had the ringer on your cell phone reprogrammed to play your favorite passage from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.[/li]** My cell phone plays Ode to Joy, not pretentious at all. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/19 "2000-11-21T05:07:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tygr \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Rodd Hill \* > > \*\*“Pretentious? _ **Moi?** _” \*\* > > Nahh, dropping French words into conversation/writing isn’t pretentious any more. > > Nowadays it’s German words you drop in for snob factor. \*\* Oy! I kann drop kraut words at zee drop of mein kampf. Und, I haven’t a focking clue of vhat hav ov zem mean. sanks to zee thrill I get from mocking zee German Culture. I guess I should have been paying attention. Ach du Liebe. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975/20 "2000-11-21T05:19:42Z")
Some people think that going to a Venerable Ivy League College [sub]TM[/sub] will, by default, make someone pretentious. It’s really just the Harvard students. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-pretentious/41975.md?page=2)