Is there a word or phrase meaning "to be dismissive of a skill that you do not possess"

So simple - that may be it…

j

I don’t.

But apparently: flaa · suh · now · suh · nai · uh · luh ·pi · luh · fuh · kay · shn

@Tr

How about belittle.

There’s always “argument by pigheadedness”, a.k.a. Invincible Ignorance.

Then again, it’s entirely possible that whatever ready-cooked meal Person B has in his freezer tastes better than Person A’s risotto.

I don’t know if there’s a generalized term for it, but what’s being described is just a special application of disdain for something unattainable, just like the fable of the fox and the grapes.

Maybe “sour grapes” is the best phrase.

I think poo-poo is pretty close.

Back when Guitar Hero was a novel thing, I had a group of friends over. One of them said, “I don’t need that, I play a real guitar” and refused to try it.

He poo-poo’d it.

mmm

Maybe too obvious, but… casually dismissive?

I don’t think the implication is that the person thinks it’s unattainable. I think the implication is that they think it’s not worth attaining.

The people who think that farming, or any of a lot of other jobs. are simple occupations that can be easily done by the unskilled and unintelligent are sure that they’d be great at them if they had to do them; they just think it would be a waste of their time.

No idea, but why would I want to, it’s a stupid word anyway. :wink:

Around these parts, isn’t it called “threadshitting”?

“Sour Grapes” is precisely what is being described – if you go by the original fable. The fox wants grapes, can’t have them, and then says they were probably sour anyway.

It’s been muddled by the modern context, which means “holding a grudge.”

A couple of the phonemes there towards the end of that sum up what I would say about it. The contestants AND judges of the National Spelling Bee are outside with torches and clubs.

Also I have seen this phenomenon often in a context more along the lines of “because I can’t figure out what use I could possibly get out of that (skill/knowledge/action/belief), therefore it’s useless and not worth anyone’s time”.

It of course has a family of annoying half-sibs and cousins such as “if I can’t understand it, it must be bullcrap” , and the classic favorite: “that’s not a real job”.

I get that a lot. My cousin can’t comprehend what I’ve been doing working at home for the last 16 months making three times more money than he ever did at his factory job. So it must be a scam. I got lucky. He could do it if someone would give him a chance and he could learn how to log into a computer . . . after figuring out how to turn it on. :thinking:

He thinks I just go to meetings and listen. I run meetings. He is bitterly envious big time.

Not how I would pronounce it. But then for a Latinate word like this, I don’t do the usual English thing of degrading vowels in unaccented syllables to a schwa and a /i/ to /ai/. How about

flo - see - nau - see - nee - hil - i - pil - uh - fi - kay - shun

I think Buck was just illustrating the concept under discussion.

“Sour grapes” is when you can’t have them, and not what the OP describes. “Oh, I don’t eat red meat” is a different fable entirely, and more to the point.

Disdain comes close, maybe.

to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn.

to think unworthy of notice, response, etc.; consider beneath oneself: to disdain replying to an insult.

noun

a feeling of contempt for anything regarded as unworthy; haughty contempt; scorn.

Oh, I wasn’t throwing shade on Buck. I was offering an (albeit colloquial) answer to the OP.

Seems like you are dismissive of the skill of having a wide vocabulary…:slight_smile:

Ah, the elusive double woosh!

Maybe, except I don’t think “threadshitting” is a very good answer to the OP. So consider me fooled if you want…