# Great moments in pretension! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479 "2006-11-15T02:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/161 "2006-11-23T01:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] What startled me was simply the idea that **jjimm** ’s mates didn’t recognize the “trendy American” beer as piss water, but were presumably impressed by someone who carried a bottle of it. I thought Brits had more sophisticated palates. That’s certainly what I get over here from people who favor microbreweries. [/QUOTE] You thought Brits had palates? have you _tasted_ their food? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/162 "2006-11-23T02:52:00Z")
I think this thread will win the contest for the most :rolleyes: smilies ever. Firstly, I think the barista term is pretentious. Why to we feel the need to jazz up the term "girl who works at the espresso bar. Just like mixologist when bartender works fine. Maybe it is because the whole industry and the people who patronize it leave such an affected taste in my mouth anyways. I mean, the sizes in Starbucks are a bit ridiculous. Tall being the smallest? :rolleyes: As for the art-gallery types, i’m a bit torn. It’s one thing to use this sort of language in everyday usage, but in an art gallery or museum, it’s like going to a pig farm and complaining of the shit smell. It’s going to happen. As for the Economist in England? Sure, there it’s probably unimpressive, but then i’m sure people don’t take a copy of it to the pub to signal to all of those around that you’re special. And that’s what pretentiousness boils down to me. An affected, obvious attempt by someone to get others to recognize your inner specialness (I know it’s not a word), by a gaudy advertisement of such. It’s a fact of life that we aren’t all hot shit, although we often feel like it. I’d like to be able for all of my achievements (or anything I’m proud of) to be instantly recognizable to others, but it just isn’t proper form. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/163 "2006-11-23T02:57:09Z")
I read an online review of a recording by the [the Eroica Trio](http://www.denison.edu/images/t/tet.jpg), in which the reviewer made grudging reference to the fact that some of the Trio’s fans found them to be attractive women “if, of course one adheres to _Western_ standards of beauty”. Well thank goodness for exalted individuals who are not stuck in _that_ silly rut. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/164 "2006-11-23T03:07:12Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] I also know a family who not only gave their house a pretentious name, they also answer the phone by giving the name. Instead of the usual “hullo?” or “5555555”, they say “Snotface House!” in a commanding tone. [/QUOTE] Is it a “slim line telephone with last number redial facility”? I was always surprised that Hyacinth Bucket, the Queen of Pretension, didn’t name her house. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/165 "2006-11-23T03:32:01Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Is it a “slim line telephone with last number redial facility”? I was always surprised that Hyacinth Bucket, the Queen of Pretension, didn’t name her house. [/QUOTE] HEY! I named my house. It’s ‘Cloud 8’ (I don’t have a plackard or anything) I also named my 30 year old plow truck. It’s called puddles (leaks a little oil). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/166 "2006-11-23T07:45:56Z")
[QUOTE=Shalmanese] You thought Brits had palates? have you _tasted_ their food? 😕 [/QUOTE] Yet again I’m going to be a humorless git and say: you’re riffing on a cliche that no longer exists. Sure we have trash food but so does everywhere; the UK’s food culture is now rich, diverse, and in many cases superb. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/167 "2006-11-24T01:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] I think this thread will win the contest for the most :rolleyes: smilies ever. Firstly, I think the barista term is pretentious. Why to we feel the need to jazz up the term "girl who works at the espresso bar. Just like mixologist when bartender works fine. Maybe it is because the whole industry and the people who patronize it leave such an affected taste in my mouth anyways. I mean, the sizes in Starbucks are a bit ridiculous. Tall being the smallest? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Its the made up “Italian” size names - venti. I think the word “venti” tops the term “barista.” ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/168 "2006-11-24T01:42:33Z")
My brother Mark’s friend, Dave, married a woman whose friends include one of the reporters on the syndicated program _Access Hollywood_. At the wedding reception, this eminent broadcast journalist was relating some of her choicest anecdotes. She made a reference to “Bobby”, then suddenly caught herself and explained: “Excuse me, I sometimes forget when I’m not among entertainment-industry insiders. ‘Bobby’ is how we in the biz refer to Robert De Niro.” To fully appreciate the story, you’d have to see the :rolleyes: expression on Mark’s face as he related it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/169 "2006-11-24T06:05:15Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] What’s wrong with that? Man knows what he wants. He’s putting on no airs- he wants to be stone drunk, and wants to do that cheap, and is willing to admit that he doesn’t know a darn thing about wine. [/QUOTE] That’s why it was an antidote. I was actually glad to encounter that guy and wish that all my customers had been like that. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/170 "2006-11-24T15:09:20Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] I also know a family who not only gave their house a pretentious name, they also answer the phone by giving the name. Instead of the usual “hullo?” or “5555555”, they say “Snotface House!” in a commanding tone. [/QUOTE] What a \*fantastic \*name for a house! I wish that was an exact quote. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/171 "2006-11-24T16:15:35Z")
Do they use a Hyacinth Bucket voice and follow up with “The lady of the house speaking” ? ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/172 "2006-11-24T18:08:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bites When Provoked] What a \*fantastic \*name for a house! I wish that was an exact quote. 😃 [/QUOTE] I wish! It almost but not quite rhymes with the actual name, which is a synonym of citadel beginning with F. [QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] Do they use a Hyacinth Bucket voice and follow up with “The lady of the house speaking”? [/QUOTE] More Bertie Wooster than Hyacinth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/173 "2006-11-24T19:20:49Z")
Today: Because I remarked on the hotness that is Rosario Dawson in _Rent_, I am apparently both philistine and moron in the eyes of **Beware of Doug**. ☹ Tonight: My pillow will be wet with tears. Link [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=397506) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/174 "2006-11-24T19:57:34Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Me: So that’s an associates degree, ma’am? > Her: No, no. It’s a bachelor of arts degree. > Me: So it’s a B.A. > Her: NO! It’s an A.B. > Me: …Begging your pardon, ma’am, but I fail to see the difference. > Her: I attended a very prestigious university, and our degrees are in Latin. They are properly referred to as “A.B.s”. That probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but those who have a proper education will understand the significance. > Me: (after a pregnant pause) I have three points of significance, ma’am. First, I have had four years of collegiate Latin, and it is taught at the elementary level that word order in that language is largely insignificant. Secondly, I, too, attended a university whose degrees are in Latin. According to mine – which I am looking at right now – my degree is called a “Baccalaurei in Artibus”. In other words, a B.A. And finally, were I to list your degree as an “A.B.”, the vast majority of those seeing it would assume either that it was a typo, or that you had only earned an associates degree. That being said, I leave the choice to you. And point four: B.A., A.B, either way your career track is to become a “barista” at Starbucks while you’re waiting for your “career” in the arts to take off. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > I read an online review of a recording by the the Eroica Trio… Woooooo!! Fancy-pants! (besides, I read their name a something else) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/175 "2006-11-25T23:15:09Z")
Oh, and someone called for a Chinese person about the issue of the forks? Well, I’m afraid that **Waverly** is giving us a pretty good example of pretentiousness. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/176 "2006-11-26T14:43:31Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] Its the made up “Italian” size names - venti. I think the word “venti” tops the term “barista.” [/QUOTE] Oooooo, don’t get me started on that Italianised twenty-ounce nonsense. The local Costa Coffee may be exclusively staffed by Poles, but at least they call it a Massimo. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/177 "2006-11-26T15:10:16Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] You mean Lee Earle Ellroy? Anybody with a pimp name like that has to be pretentious just to lift himself out of the muck. Besides, there’s no question he’s one seriously screwed up guy. Just check out _[My Dark Places](http://www.amazon.com/My-Dark-Places-James-Ellroy/dp/0679762051/)_. “Greatest crime writer ever”? Not even in the Top 10. Stranger [/QUOTE] Ah ha !when the new thread starts I bagsies Conan Doyle and Evan Hunter! ---
**Author:** ![bundykala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bundykala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bundykala)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479/178 "2006-11-26T23:11:10Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] Its the made up “Italian” size names - venti. I think the word “venti” tops the term “barista.” [/QUOTE] [Foamy’s](http://www.illwillpress.com/sml.html) said all there is to say on that topic. (warning: explicit language) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-moments-in-pretension/380479.md?page=8)