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Not trying to be cute, but...

PrettySquareGal

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Hmmm..... I'm plenty buxom :eek:, but I think it's because I'm short and have youngish features .......fast fading at 41.... that I'm still called cute. Although I can see your point. Audrey was straight up and down giving her a little girl look.

Cute is for life, maybe.
 

PrettySquareGal

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Today on TCM they had two movies with "cute" roles for women. Shirley MacLaine in "The Apartment" and Marsha Mason in "The Good-bye Girl." But I have to add that Jack Lemmon and Richard Dreyfess were both awfully cute, too! I guess cute is alright, now that I think of it on the flip side!
 

Marla

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Cute, to me, sounds like a comment on the subject's personality. Or perceived personality. Strangers comment on how "cute" I am--until they get to know me. Cute girls are sweet, innocent, and non-threatening. It's a little bit condescending so I try not to use it to describe other people. There is, however, a difference between being described as cute by a close (girl) friend vs. an acquaintance or a stranger. It's less derisive.

I know in female circles it is pretty common to refer to men as being "cute," but there it connotes attractiveness. A "cute" guy is someone you would approach; while a "hot" (hate that term) guy is someone that would approach you.
 
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ZombieGirl

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Minnesota
I, too, think that being considered cute has a lot to do with personality. Even someone with a little "p*** and vinegar" (as we call it here) can be considered cute. Cute in my mind is a balance of sweetness and innocence with a little spice thrown in to keep things interesting.
 

Yeps

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"Cute" seems to be synonymous with "innocent" in looks. Do you think that's true? I see it in these examples.
I think that is pretty true.

Not to mention that Sophia has a full set of curves! It's hard to call a buxom lady "cute," unless she's Marilyn Monroe... And sometimes not even then!
I would never call Marilyn Monroe, or any lady of matching type, cute. Too much vavoom.
 

RockyHorror

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Vancouver
I totally hate being called cute, it would actually make me less interested in a guy if he told me I was cute. It was the only compliment I received for years and when thats all you hear, it feels like you must be the polar opposite of sexy. I've banned my boyfriend from calling me cute though, and hearing it less often definitely makes it easier to accept it from other people. I come across to people as very very innocent, even when I may not be, I think it's something about the way I laugh and my voice that makes people say it so much.
 

C-dot

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I would never call Marilyn Monroe, or any lady of matching type, cute. Too much vavoom.

In some pictures, when that childlike quality of hers is really showing itself, it's tempting to say "cute" lol

AB17_47_2.jpg


I've banned my boyfriend from calling me cute though, and hearing it less often definitely makes it easier to accept it from other people.

Very true - When you hate being called something anyway, hearing it from the people closest to you is much worse. (My boyfriend pinches my cheeks and calls me cute all the time, I doubt he would stop if I told him to either :p)
 
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Very true - When you hate being called something anyway, hearing it from the people closest to you is much worse. (My boyfriend pinches my cheeks and calls me cute all the time, I doubt he would stop if I told him to either :p)

It gives me a right laugh when I visualize that scene. I think what is generally regarded as "cute" is that sweet yet mischievous pixie-like appearance that many of the more petite gals have.
 

PrettySquareGal

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The lady at an estate sale said "You're so cute" to me at least three times. It was after I would say something, so I think for me it's a personality thing more so than looks, maybe.
 
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I would have a tendancy to say.."you are very cute..ya know"..rather than..'you are just so drop dead gorgeously beautiful to me that I can hardly keep my eyes off of you'..no matter how I really felt..if I hardly knew you. I never say..'she is so hot' since I wouldn't really know for sure unless examined further.:D
I do think there is a difference between cute and cutesy..as well.
 

sheeplady

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I've noticed that I'm more likely to get a "you look cute or "you look nice" from my male English-is-their-first-language students. Male students who come from halfway around the world, and don't speak English as a first language often call me "pretty" or "beautiful." I think it may be a cultural and a language thing. I'll get both kind of comments on the same day. I don't think that men in the US are comfortable using much more than cute or nice because it may otherwise be read as a sexual advance.

When I use "cute" to describe another female, I not only think they look very nice and are pretty, but they also seem approachable and nice. A cute person tends to be slightly outgoing, isn't afraid to express themselves, is personally stylish, seems to revel in their own personality, and have a good time doing it. The people I think of as cute have beaming beautiful smiles- I think that would be the largest marker of cute. A cute woman is the type I can see myself going shopping with, out to tea, and we'd close down the town. I imagine we'd have a great time. So when I call someone cute, I'm trying to say, "You're so pretty and confident- I love your smile! I'd love to go shopping with you!" Being "beautiful" is something you get as a luck of a draw. Being "cute" or "stylish" is something that is cultivated and takes work.

I never realized that some feel bad when called cute, I always meant it as a compliment. I don't really walk around telling people they are beautiful unless I know them.
 

rue

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California native living in Arizona.
The lady at an estate sale said "You're so cute" to me at least three times. It was after I would say something, so I think for me it's a personality thing more so than looks, maybe.

It might have something to do with the way we dress. I've noticed that people search for words to say something to me about the way I dress and it's usually something like "you look so.... ummmm... cute!"

I would have a tendancy to say.."you are very cute..ya know"..rather than..'you are just so drop dead gorgeously beautiful to me that I can hardly keep my eyes off of you'..no matter how I really felt..if I hardly knew you. I never say..'she is so hot' since I wouldn't really know for sure unless examined further.:D
I do think there is a difference between cute and cutesy..as well.

You have such a way with words HD :)
 

PrettySquareGal

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rue I don't dress vintage, just a piece here and there, so I don't think it's what I'm wearing. But since starting this thread I'm learning to see the bright side of cute!
 

rotebander

New in Town
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Orlando, FL
Though I am only in high school, I usually don't get "cute," surprisingly. I'm usually given "pretty" or "spiffy." Honestly, I prefer "spiffy"-- what a great word! Nonetheless, I really don't mind being called cute. I mean, I'm sixteen. I'm not exactly aiming for sexy.
 

Dixie_Amazon

Practically Family
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Redstick, LA
Sometime my clothes are called cute, but as a tall and with somewhat tom boyish interests, it has rarely been applied to me. Even when I was young and slimmer.

According to Google:
cute/kyo͞ot/
Adjective:

  1. Attractive in a pretty or endearing way.
  2. Sexually attractive.
 

Edward

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Now that I'm Mature I get "Are You in the Theatre?" when I'm in The USA I get "I Love you eccentric English People" (er no I'm Australian!)

I got that once. Drnuk middle aged couple of women in Vegas. "Oh ! Say something! We love your English accents!" I think I managed to be just civil enough to hiss "I'm Irish" before I walked on....

When I routinely referred to women I liked as "cute", it was a way of saying I found them attractive without it coming over as aggressive. These days I' more likely to say a lady is "stunning" or "extremely attractive". Told a lady once she was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. She thought it was a line.
 

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