snob
snob
(OP)
What is the etymology of snob ?
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS Come Join Us!Are you an
Engineering professional? Join Eng-Tips Forums!
*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail. Posting GuidelinesJobs |
|
RE: snob
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: snob
There is a book, Class, author Korda, I believe, who says that the only class really concerned about appearing more genteel than it is, is the middle class. They insist that mansion dwellers not mistake them for trailer dwellers. The mansion and trailer dwellers could not care less.
William
RE: snob
William
RE: snob
1781 seems too modern. Could it be the result of muddling the latin expression "sine nobilitatis" ? See
also:
RE: snob
http
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sno1.htm
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: snob
jeez I hate straw man arguments.
Hardly any single statement about a class as a whole (and by describing yourself as a middle-classer you do acknowledge the existence of such a class), except for the very definition of said class, will apply universally to all its members.
The statement rings true for me, except that I think it might be the other middle-classers rather than the upper-classers that the middle-classers are trying to convince. Those at the very top and the very bottom don't have to worry about what other people think. Some do anyway. Those in the middle may not have to worry either, but they're more likely to think they do. It's an insecurity thing; if you're completely secure or have nothing to lose, there's nothing to be insecure about.
Within each class there are similar subdivisions--look at "nouveau riche" vs. old money. The Old Money attitude, reputedly, is that if you have to *try* to appear a certain way, you've failed.
Hg
RE: snob
Nicely put.
William
RE: snob
The Straw Man Fallacy
Etymology:
"Straw man" is one of the best-named fallacies, because it is memorable and vividly illustrates the nature of the fallacy. Imagine a fight in which one of the combatants sets up a man of straw, attacks it, then proclaims victory. All the while, the real opponent stands by untouched.
Quote-Unquote:
"When your opponent sets up a straw man, set it on fire and kick the cinders around the stage. Don't worry about losing the Strawperson-American community vote." (James Lileks)
Exposition:
Judging from my experience, Straw Man is one of the commonest of fallacies. It is endemic in public debates on politics, ethics, and religion.
The Straw Man is a type of Red Herring because the arguer is attempting to refute his opponent's position, and in the context is required to do so, but instead attacks a position—the "straw man"—not held by his opponent. In a Straw Man argument, the arguer argues to a conclusion that denies the "straw man" he has set up, but misses the target. There may be nothing wrong with the argument presented by the arguer when it is taken out of context, that is, it may be a perfectly good argument against the straw man. It is only because the burden of proof is on the arguer to argue against the opponent's position that a Straw Man fallacy is committed. So, the fallacy is not simply the argument, but the entire situation of the argument occurring in such a context.
Source: http://www.fallacyfiles.org/strawman.html
RE: snob
I learn all sorts of things on this site.
(It's all in fun, False Precision...)
RE: snob
Poor people can be snobs, too. There is a part in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when impoverished inventor Caractacus Potts suggests to candy heiress Truly Scrumptious that she shouldn't really have anything to do with him because she is above him. She gets angry and says, "If I said that you'd call me a snob!"
Pride and hubris are universal.
William