Hatta wrote:Pretentious derives from pretense. It refers to putting on airs of culture that you don't actually have. If you are authentically cultured then you might be a snob, but you're not pretentious. If you refuse to drink anything but Guinness because it's imported and has a good reputation, you're being pretentious. If you've tried every beer you can get your hands on and have found Guinness to be the best, that's authentic.
Now, am I being pretentious about the definition of pretentious?
No, that's a good point. And thanks - I learned something!

The term is commonly used to mean snobbish, so that was the way I worded it above. Now I know that's technically improper. I'll retitle the thread accordingly.
How ironic.