Definitions
Wiktionary
- adv. With condescension; superciliously
Etymologies
- From French du haut en bas ("from on high to low") (Wiktionary)
Examples
“But in the treatment of peasant life by most of Bjornson's predecessors there had been too much of the de haut en bas attitude; the peasant had been drawn from the outside, viewed philosophically, and invested with artificial sentiment.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘de haut en bas’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 272 more...
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Random Reading
Words I stumbled across.
consociational, flashterbation, lawyered up, fertigation, poblano, boi, andro, all rooty, chronophage, floater season, make dials, d-day dodger and 50 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for de haut en bas.
mollusque Thanks, c_b! Oct 23, 2008
chained_bear Yeah, I saw that definition too--sionnach mentioned "coarse" below also--but that doesn't seem to be what he was aiming for either. What John said made the most sense to me. Being "not enough of an asshole" is exactly what her critics would accuse her of. Oct 22, 2008
reesetee There's another meaning for "blousy" that may apply here--coarse or rustic. Perhaps that's what the author was aiming for?
And I third the notion of Noonan as a fine writer. Oct 22, 2008
chained_bear I second John's recommendation of Varadarajan's article. Also, mollusque may wish to note that his last name is monovocalic. Oct 22, 2008
john c_b, I agree about Noonan: great writer with whom I frequently disagree. Varadarajan's piece is worth reading in full.
I presume he meant blouse-y, like her critics dismiss her as too sensitive or feminine (or not enough of an asshole) to be a serious pundit. Oct 22, 2008
chained_bear Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think Peggy Noonan is remotely either blowzy or frowzy. If the word "blousy" could mean something like "blouse-y," I could maybe see what he means... (airy?)
I disagree with Noonan a lot, but she is a slam-a$# FIIIIIINE writer. One of the best there is. Oct 22, 2008
sionnach Blousy?
Blowzy?
Coarse and ruddy-faced; fat and ruddy; high colored; frowzy?
Characteristic of or befitting a slut or slattern?
I wonder what Tunku is trying to say here.
Oct 21, 2008
john “But--and here is what makes her so attractive to open-minded readers, and so infuriating to Movement Conservatives, who dismiss her as too blousy--she makes her point in a way that captures the humanity of its context. This isn't punditry, de haut en bas, but engagement with the reader, with the reader's milieu--with America.�?
Forbes.com, In Praise Of Peggy Noonan, by Tunku Varadarajan, October 20, 2008 Oct 21, 2008