# What Does "Precocious" Mean to You? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210 "2019-04-08T12:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/1 "2019-04-08T12:16:00Z")
In your opinion, does “precocious” have a negative connotation (i.e.: a “smarty pants” or “smart-mouthed”) touch to it? 1. Yes 2. No ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/2 "2019-04-08T12:47:18Z")
No. But then, I was a precocious smarty pants as much as someone born into a family of dedicated smarty pants can be precocious in their smarty pants-ness. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/3 "2019-04-08T12:56:33Z")
No. Mozart was precocious. Don’t know whether he was a smarty pants. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/4 "2019-04-08T12:59:35Z")
No. It merely means earlier than expected. The usage you refer to is something I’ve heard but not what I’d think of upon hearing the word. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/5 "2019-04-08T13:13:06Z")
Used alone (Mike’s son is precocious.) it has no negative meaning. Used with modifiers (Christ, Mike’s son is a precocious little fuck.) it does. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/6 "2019-04-08T13:33:06Z")
The lil’wrekker was/is precocious. She was real cute about it. It’s just a good thing she wasn’t evil. It could’ve been real bad. She uses her powers for good. (I hope) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/7 "2019-04-08T14:28:49Z")
I didn’t know the meaning had diverged into a snide remark about young smartasses. Last time I saw it used it was referring to using dwarfing rootstocks on apple trees to encourage earlier bearing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/8 "2019-04-08T14:40:58Z")
To me, it’s always meant something like “clever” and a bit advanced for their age. I feel like I have heard it used to mean something like smart-assy but can be folded into the “advanced for their age” bit, I think. I voted “no” in the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/9 "2019-04-08T14:49:35Z")
It carries the connotation of “smart, but even more so, conceited and arrogant in young prodigy-ness” to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/10 "2019-04-08T14:57:35Z")
I don’t consider it a negative word, but it does get used in a “Bless your heart” kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/11 "2019-04-08T15:26:22Z")
A bit negative, to me it means someone who is annoying but probably also gifted. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/12 "2019-04-08T15:53:21Z")
Precocious does connote a certain obnoxiousness, IMHO. A quiet, obedient exceptionally bright child isn’t likely to be called “precocious”, but a very talkative, willful child probably is, regardless of how smart they actually are. Child characters on TV shows are almost always precocious. A child character with the verbal abilities of a normal kid would be boring. A precocious kid talks back to adults and has a mature sense of humor. You kind of need that for a sitcom. But if kids acted like that in real life, I think more parents would be stuck in prison for child abuse. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/13 "2019-04-08T16:56:37Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > In your opinion, does “precocious” have a negative connotation (i.e.: a “smarty pants” or “smart-mouthed”) touch to it? > > 1. Yes > 2. No It depend totally on how it’s being used. Kids can be quiet and precocious. The quiet ones just read a lot and get test scores that surprise their teachers because they weren’t talking a lot. The word ‘advanced’ is less likely to be taken negatively. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/14 "2019-04-08T19:09:23Z")
Definitely a negative connotation to me. But I wouldn’t quite say it means “smart ass.” It means advanced and obnoxious about it. And Mozart definitely qualifies if you’ve read his comments on his work. The guy was an arrogant bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/15 "2019-04-08T19:19:25Z")
Nah, it just means they’re a little hyper and a bit snarky. It’s a cute thing. Once it goes beyond cute then they go from precocious to an asshole ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/16 "2019-04-08T20:45:36Z")
To me it’s always meant “advanced for one’s age”, not at all negative. Is there any chance people are mistaking “precious” for “precocious?” ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/17 "2019-04-08T20:54:39Z")
The term “precocious” means “the person using this word to describe the child is having a hard time dealing with the fact the child is smart.” It does have a negative connotation - but for the person using the term, not the person being described by it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/18 "2019-04-08T21:03:27Z")
Yeah, the way I use it and hear it used, I don’t get any of that arrogant vibe. For me, one of my friend’s daughters is the textbook example of what I would call precocious: she’s 11, but acts extremely comfortable and smart around older people, and is happy to converse with them on a level I’d expect more from an adult. She’s not in the least bit annoying or arrogant–she’s just very clever and socially advanced, comfortable in a way with adults that is a bit unusual to me. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/19 "2019-04-08T21:13:07Z")
I’ve never thought of it as negative at all. To me, it has always meant something like advanced or early-developing. People brag about their kids being “precocious”, even if they sometimes lament that they can’t outsmart them as easily as they’d like (ask me about the time I tried to outsmart my four-year old with fake cough medicine). If I wanted to convey the “smartass” sense, I’d just say “smartass”. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210/20 "2019-04-08T22:36:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Used alone (Mike’s son is precocious.) it has no negative meaning. > > Used with modifiers (Christ, Mike’s son is a precocious little fuck.) it does. Couldn’t you say that for damn near most all adjectives? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-precocious-mean-to-you/832210.md?page=2)