She was, I now realize, what author Christopher Noxon calls a "rejuvenile." This curious modern hybrid, adult in physique yet deliberately madcap and childlike in tastes, habits and sometimes dependence, is also variously known as a "kidult," a "grup," a "twixter" or a "adultescent" in a culture half-mad with "Peter-Pandemonium."
The profusion of such terms suggests that this is a widely observed phenomenon … for which there is an embarrassment of evidence.
June 21, 2006, 20:20
Kalleh
I like it. We've all known people like that, but there really isn't another word for it.
June 22, 2006, 07:06
arnie
Ugh. Provided we know the person is an adult, what's wrong with "juvenile"?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
June 22, 2006, 19:49
Kalleh
Arnie's like Mikey...he hates everything! This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
June 23, 2006, 01:36
arnie
Who's Mikey?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
June 23, 2006, 21:38
Kalleh
As you can see from this link, Mikey was a little boy in a commercial for Life cereal in 1971. His older brothers didn't know if they should eat their new cereal or not, so they put it in front of Mikey and said, "Mikey hates everything!" As you might imagine, Mikey ended up liking it, so they all ate it then. The quote "Mikey hates everything!" has become quite popular.
June 24, 2006, 01:48
Caterwauller
There is a great deal of difference between someone who is childlike and someone who is childish. I don't mind being called the former, but would be offended by being called the latter.
Where do you think the other terms (grup, etc) fall into these spectrums (spectra?)?
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
June 24, 2006, 19:42
Kalleh
Grup?
June 25, 2006, 05:24
Froeschlein
quote:
Originally posted by Caterwauller: There is a great deal of difference between someone who is childlike and someone who is childish. I don't mind being called the former, but would be offended by being called the latter.
Me too: I'd probably express my outrage at the unmerited insult by throwing a tantrum and holding my breath til my face turned blue.
BTW, these 2 terms carry over 100% into German: kindlich and kindisch, where the first term refers to virtues: the innocence of childhood as yet untainted by adulthood ("Except ye become as a little child, ye cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.") -- and the second to vices: the self-centeredness, impatience, inconsiderateness of children and ungrownup grownups.
Fröschlein
June 26, 2006, 04:35
Caterwauller
Grup, kidult, and twixter are all terms I've heard. I think I'm too old to be considered one of them, but I do exhibit some classic behaviors of the grups . . . having kids call me by my first name only, listening to current music . . . I obviously do not live with my parents (and my husband is very glad about that!), and I do have a decent, very stable job.
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh, 