# I'm cocky, pigheaded, conceited and priggish...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-cocky-pigheaded-conceited-and-priggish/553720>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 14, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-cocky-pigheaded-conceited-and-priggish/553720 "2010-09-14T13:55:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-cocky-pigheaded-conceited-and-priggish/553720/41 "2010-09-22T06:03:07Z")

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> [@Visual\_Purple](#):
>
> I’m curious about the word. It looks as though it means something like “self smart.” Is that the idea–sort of like self-satisfied in English?

yes and no, it’s similar to know it all, in that third person passive voice, but a more original conceit. It’s a reflexive expression

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-cocky-pigheaded-conceited-and-priggish/553720/42 "2010-09-22T07:11:52Z")

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I think the expression that would be used in English is “you need to be more diplomatic”; an American boss once told me I needed to be sweeter (and my also-American coworkers confirmed that yep, there definitely was a gender bias there). Languages don’t always have one-to-one correspondence between words.

I still haven’t figured out why the hell would an engineer need to be sweet, but being diplomatic (when I’m with people who don’t respond well to straight requests and I manage to pull it off) helps me get what I need and want. It’s extra effort, though.

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**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-cocky-pigheaded-conceited-and-priggish/553720/43 "2010-09-22T15:30:54Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> an American boss once told me I needed to be sweeter (and my also-American coworkers confirmed that yep, there definitely was a gender bias there)

That’s a major Catch-22 for women in professional roles: if you’re diplomatic, you’re weak; if you’re assertive, you’re a bitch.

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