Talk:bighead

RFV discussion: September–November 2012

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bighead

Rfv-sense: A person having an inflated opinion of himself; a conceited or arrogant person.

Dictionaries don't have it, so let's see if this can get attested by in-use quotations. I tried google:"he is a bighead", and found some non-durably archived hits.

Even if unattested, it would be nice to have an input from native speakers on whether the term is ever used in that way in the wild. --Dan Polansky (talk) 19:22, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Yes I think I've used it, maybe a back formation from big-headed. Or maybe the way around. Mglovesfun (talk) 19:27, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

I added three citations. Equinox ◑ 20:04, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

The citations unequivocally demonstrate use in the genus "person", even though the "conceited" differentia is not so perfectly discernible. Seems good enough to me, anyway, so thanks! What is the synonym of "bighead" in the sense of conceited person that you would most commonly use? --Dan Polansky (talk) 20:12, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

show-off is common. I'd probably say braggart, with a touch of self-consciousness: it is not quite an everyday word but it feels just right. Equinox ◑ 20:16, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

This is the common meaning in the UK. But I can't say that I have heard it used in very many years. SemperBlotto (talk) 07:09, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

I think it's largely playground slang. Children still seem to say it regularly (and Private Eye has its "Mary Ann Bighead" column). Smurrayinchester (talk) 22:20, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

The one I'm curious about is "The condition of being conceited, arrogant, or having an inflated opinion of oneself." Sounds like an uncountable now. I'm not challenging it per se, but I don't think I can understand it without a citation or a usage example. Mglovesfun (talk) 19:44, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

{{look}}

I've passed the "person" sense, and tagged the "condition of being conceited" sense. Perhaps it is used like "he suffered from bighead"? (Compare: "he had a big head".) - -sche (discuss) 08:51, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

RFV-failed for now. The sense was: "{{colloquial|mainly|_|US}} The condition of being conceited, arrogant, or having an inflated opinion of oneself." - -sche (discuss) 10:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)