Hi.
What is the female for dandy, fop? A girl who is more worried about her appearance than in anything else?
Thanks.
What is the female for dandy, fop? A girl who is more worried about her appearance than in anything else?
Thanks.
dandy, fop
- Thread starter Alaor Santos
- Start date
I have heard the term "mannequin" used. A mannequin is a life size model person that is used in stores to display clothes. It is not a complimentary term, denoting lack of feeling and care only for appearance, still, it doesn't sound quite right to me.
I don't think there is a real equivalent of "dandy" or "fop" for females, because those words communicate a subtle disapproval, the implication being that paying too much attention to one's appearance is inherently a feminine trait and therefore unbecoming for a man. Both words are old-fashioned. These days, a man or a woman can be referred to as "fashion-conscious" or even as a "clothes-horse" with no disapproval intended. I'm sure others will come up some more ideas.
While not in common use in my part of the world, I once read a southern expression (Texan?) that would fit:
steel-bellied airhead. The implication is that the person to whom the phrase is applied takes very good care
of her physical state, while having little going on between the ears. It is not complimentary at all.
steel-bellied airhead. The implication is that the person to whom the phrase is applied takes very good care
of her physical state, while having little going on between the ears. It is not complimentary at all.
I do not know if that would help, but here we say: "Little Patricia" and "Little Maurice". If we say this we mean that these people put on very nice clothes and makeup to go to the supermarket on the corner, or attend classes in high school, or go shopping, etc. Their hair is always very tidy and her nails always done.
Great stuff, Alaor! I was also going to suggest Cuchu's "airhead", but without an adjective, it doesn't carry the focus on meticulous makeup etc. And "steel-bellied" doesn't either.
"Mincing" or "preening airhead" might do the trick. Or "varnished coquette", maybe. Depends on your audience.
"Peacock" is good for a guy, too, and I think you could use it for a female, but with some confusion -- I suppose the correct word there would be peahen, or peafowl, but that wouldn't work. "Peacock petticoat," maybe.
Dandy A coxcomb; a fop. The feminine of "dandy" is either dandilly or dandizett. Egan says the word was first used in 1813, but examples of the word occur at least one hundred years before that date. (French, dandin, a ninny, a vain, conceited fellow.). Source: Brewers' Dictionary.
A narcissistic ninny?
You could call her a princess, a blonde, an airhead, a valley girl, a bottle-blonde, an over-made-up tart....
My favourite is and always will be "Twinkie". Very pretty on the outside but when one bites into it, the result is bland fluff and air.
Yes, "princess" is what came to mind when I read the question.
A recently invented word I read somewhere made me laugh: "celebutard". It's formed by the combination of "celebrity" and "retard", a derogatory name for the slow of mind. It seems to fit a few princesses to a "T" that have been in the news recently.
A recently invented word I read somewhere made me laugh: "celebutard". It's formed by the combination of "celebrity" and "retard", a derogatory name for the slow of mind. It seems to fit a few princesses to a "T" that have been in the news recently.
I have heard "fashion victim" used to describe women who wear high fashion for the sake of wearing it, without regard to whether it flatters them.
Hmmmmmm...........but what if someone is called "a princess" by people who don't even know her (not to mention her brain)?
I'm not sure I understand. If they don't know her, why would they be calling her "a princess"? It takes at least some level of familiarity to form an opinion of someone, doesn't it?Hmmmmmm...........but what if someone is called "a princess" by people who don't even know her (not to mention her brain)?
For example, she walks into a cafe somewhere, the waiter comes to greet her.....
--Dinner?
--No, just a drink.
--Alone?
--Yes, I would like.......black coffee, please.
--Nothing else?
--No, thanks, that's all.
--Okay, right away.
(after 3 minutes)
--Here you go, princess.
If we go back to the original meaning of dandy, i.e. someone who, aside from devoting much attention to his appearance, disdains bourgeois values and enjoys shocking middle-class square prudes with outlandish behaviour (remember Baudelaire dying his hair green and taking his pet lobster on walks), I guess the feminine equivalent of the word could be flapper.
A word that must have fallen out of fashion about some 80 years ago, more or less.
A word that must have fallen out of fashion about some 80 years ago, more or less.
In that case, it's a term of endearment, like "honey", "darling", "lamb", "sweetie-pie", "sugar", "cutie-pie", and so forth. There are dozens of these pet names that are used in some parts of the U.S. simply as a sign of friendliness.
It would be very different if the waiter walked back to the kitchen and said, "I've got a real princess at Table 4."
I'm a woman, and I would feel insulted if a waiter called me "princess." The word suggests disdain. (At least, in the ways I've heard it used.) I would not feel the same way if the waiter called me "dear" or another such benign epithet.
It may be that in the U.S. we're more sensitive to -- and apt to be irritated by -- class distinctions.
It may be that in the U.S. we're more sensitive to -- and apt to be irritated by -- class distinctions.
So, if the waiter walks back to the kitchen and says: "I've got a real princess at Table 4", does it mean that the girl is superficial? I mean, he barely knows her....(sorry for insisting.....I'm dying to knowIn that case, it's a term of endearment, like "honey", "darling", "lamb", "sweetie-pie", "sugar", "cutie-pie", and so forth. There are dozens of these pet names that are used in some parts of the U.S. simply as a sign of friendliness.
It would be very different if the waiter walked back to the kitchen and said, "I've got a real princess at Table 4."
)
It most likely means that she is demanding, fussy, self-absorbed... and probably overdressed for the restaurant.So, if the waiter walks back to the kitchen and says: "I've got a real princess at Table 4", does it mean that the girl is superficial? I mean, he barely knows her....(sorry for insisting.....I'm dying to know
Somehow these traits seem to go along with the obsession with dressing perfectly and being very "made up", at least if we're still discussing the female version of "dandy/fop."
Hmmmmmm....okay, thanks, James, for putting up with meIt most likely means that she is demanding, fussy, self-absorbed... and probably overdressed for the restaurant.
I wonder if we can get an BE view on this matter.......(is it entirely impossible to be a compliment?
)The word "princess" also can be used as short-hand for an ugly and anti-Semitic term used in the U.S. to describe a wealthy Jewish woman ("Jewish-American Princess"). Because it can be used as a derogatory epithet, it's best to avoid using it at all (unless you're speaking to a very young girl in a frilly dress, to whom you might say: "You look just like a princess").
How about a non-native view? If someone I didn't know called me princess, I think there's a high probability I'd consider it a derogatory term. But parents and family can say it. And the tone and manner of speech can make a whole world of a difference.I wonder if we can get an BE view on this matter.......(is it entirely impossible to be a compliment?
It all comes down to the context. If a complete stranger called me princess, but in a nice way, I'd take that as a compliment.
And as to the original question, I feel we're slowly drifting away from it
From the Farlex on-line dictionary:
tr.v. tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way. Often used with up.
She looked like a tarted up hussy to me. (my example).
Can we turn "Paris Hilton" into a verb?
"She Paris-Hiltoned herself to look like an expensive hussy.
tr.v. tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way. Often used with up.
She looked like a tarted up hussy to me. (my example).
Can we turn "Paris Hilton" into a verb?
"She Paris-Hiltoned herself to look like an expensive hussy.
Although we use "to get tarted up" to describe putting on lots of make-up, etc., if you referred to a woman as "a tart" in BE it would imply that she is a woman of loose morals.
To me 'tarted up hussy' is quite a bit more insulting than calling a man a dandy/fop. And question: Does noone else think that 'dandy' and 'fop' are a bit outdated terms? I've never heard anyone use them in modern speech.
But in answer to the question: In Legally blonde they call her a "lifesize barbie", and I support the 'princess' term, and you can also call a girl "precious" - but that's not exactly the same meaning, that implies that she also can't deal with stressful/tough conditions and that she acts as if she is really delicate and is really really girly.
What about a `wall flower' a decorative woman who doesn't have much to say. And it's in keeping wiith the era.
Trouble with 'wallflower' is that in BE it means an unattractive woman who is not asked to dance. By extension any unattractive woman who is left out of things. Not quite what we're looking for, I think.
Really? But I guess it can have alternative meanings as many words/slang words do... I agree with the minjiminhi's meaning of 'wallflower'
This is the meaning in Chinese too
I don't agree with either of these definitions. I've always that of a wallflower as a shy or introverted girl. I would expect a wallflower to be pretty but shy, and certainly not equivalent to a dandy or fop.
I saw recently in a women's magazine a reference to a fop as a "himbo".
What about "dolled up"?