"When I'm goin' to the movies / I take up seven rows because I'm ... "

October 10, 2007 2:08 PM

Many adjectives used to describe overweight men in a nonoffensive manner can also be used to describe muscular men (i.e. stout, beefy, etc.). What are some adjectives that describe, with a positive or neutral connotation, the state of being both male and overweight, but that are not used (or at least not commonly used) to describe muscular men as well?

(Adjectives preferred, but nice-sounding phrases are good too, I guess.)

posted by WCityMike to writing & language (52 comments total)

Portly.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:09 PM on October 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Stocky
posted by moonshine at 2:13 PM on October 10, 2007

hefty

brick shithouse
posted by Salvatorparadise at 2:13 PM on October 10, 2007

Husky.
posted by milarepa at 2:14 PM on October 10, 2007

Rotund?
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:14 PM on October 10, 2007

big-boned
cherubic (a stretch)
barrel-chested
posted by dendrite at 2:15 PM on October 10, 2007

Corpulent.
posted by Comrade_robot at 2:15 PM on October 10, 2007

in asia: prosperous
posted by netsirk at 2:16 PM on October 10, 2007

pudgy
posted by Rock Steady at 2:16 PM on October 10, 2007

Heavyset.
posted by frobozz at 2:17 PM on October 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

"He's a big guy."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:17 PM on October 10, 2007

doughy, big boy, pop'n fresh
posted by jbickers at 2:18 PM on October 10, 2007

thickset
posted by jamaro at 2:19 PM on October 10, 2007

robust
posted by The World Famous at 2:24 PM on October 10, 2007

chunky

heavy

"like a big teddy-bear"
posted by Forktine at 2:28 PM on October 10, 2007

If it's a personal ad for a gay man, the word you're looking for is "bear." I'd steer clear of it otherwise, though.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:29 PM on October 10, 2007

The technical terms are ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph.

ectomorph == thin and lanky
endomorph == stocky build and prominent abdomen (i.e. "fat")
mesomorph == husky muscular body
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:30 PM on October 10, 2007 [3 favorites]

Huge/massive/ginormous/hulking.

(extra points if you can say "huge friggin' guy" with a Boston accent.)
posted by The GoBotSodomizer at 2:46 PM on October 10, 2007

Chubby.
posted by afx237vi at 2:50 PM on October 10, 2007

well-fed
fleshy
adipose
ovoid
corn-fed
Falstaffian
cannibal-bait
"jolly"
posted by rob511 at 2:56 PM on October 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Great gorger.
posted by uandt at 2:58 PM on October 10, 2007

rob511: interesting. To me, 'corn-fed' implies that solid sort of farm boy body. No fat, just.. solid.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 3:09 PM on October 10, 2007

(said archly) "prominent citizen."

Has a big bay window.

Well-upholstered.

Tubby.

Carrying a little extra.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:22 PM on October 10, 2007

Like I said before, flabby.
posted by jayder at 3:29 PM on October 10, 2007

Erm, a lot of these aren't "positive or neutral" in connotation.
posted by desuetude at 3:36 PM on October 10, 2007

"heavyset" and "portly" are probably the most common. both are inoffensive, yet commonly understood to mean "overweight."
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:41 PM on October 10, 2007

Portly, husky, rotund, corpulent, pudgy, chubby, and heavyset are all negative, and some are offensive.

Go with "gigantor."
posted by kirkaracha at 3:57 PM on October 10, 2007

Imposing, substantial, massive, well fed.
posted by jamjam at 4:01 PM on October 10, 2007

In tailoring, they sometimes refer to a "prominent seat", but I would say portly is pretty close to neutral.
posted by cardboard at 4:03 PM on October 10, 2007

Pear-shaped.
posted by wafaa at 4:17 PM on October 10, 2007

"A man of executive carriage"
posted by sandra_s at 4:30 PM on October 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

doesn't pear-shaped have a negative connotation due to its other usage? ("things have gone pear-shaped")
posted by juv3nal at 4:31 PM on October 10, 2007

Cuddle-worthy! Like a teddy bear!
posted by thebrokenmuse at 4:31 PM on October 10, 2007

I suppose you could combine 2 of those terms and get "bear-shaped".

I just call my best friend "a big guy".
posted by matildaben at 4:33 PM on October 10, 2007

"Big Daddy"
posted by jayder at 4:39 PM on October 10, 2007

Built for comfort.
posted by maudlin at 4:57 PM on October 10, 2007

I think heavyset has a fairly neutral connotation, or something like "built like a linebacker". I think it's hard to find a positive connotation for "fat" in this society (truly no offense meant to anyone on any level whatsoever), but those are pretty neutral, non-judgmental, used by people who intend NOT to give offense, etc.
posted by bunnycup at 5:01 PM on October 10, 2007

Thick around the middle.
posted by clearlydemon at 6:07 PM on October 10, 2007

voluptuous
posted by brandz at 6:45 PM on October 10, 2007

A 90-year-old dowager of my acquaintance took a good look at the big, burly, barrel-chested fellow helping me move some boxes, gave an approving smile, and said, "He's a fine broth of a lad, isn't he?"
posted by Elsa at 6:51 PM on October 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

"Fluffy"

"He has chester drawer disease"
(That is when his chest fell into his drawers).
posted by JujuB at 7:22 PM on October 10, 2007

"He's got a big verandah over the toolshed"
posted by bunglin jones at 7:26 PM on October 10, 2007

On re-reading, I love "Falstaffian" and "well-upholstered." I notice the tags include personal ad, and perhaps it's worth mentioning that some* women really enjoy a "Falstaffian" or "well-upholstered" figure of a man. When I hear a man described as a big man, heavy-set, barrel-chested, or bear-like, I typically hear those as positive terms unless delivered in a negative tone or with further (negative) elaboration. That is, those terms will have positive connotations to the right ear.

* "Some" means "plenty," at least among the women whom I know well enough to discuss romantic & sexual matters.
posted by Elsa at 8:17 PM on October 10, 2007

Wow, way to be heterosexist, me. I should have said "some people really enjoy..." My error.
posted by Elsa at 8:20 PM on October 10, 2007

Opponent of anorexia
Large
Santa-like
Outside of the United States- American

Personally? I use "fat." It's not exactly neutral, but it's direct and truthful without being cruel.
posted by Saydur at 8:27 PM on October 10, 2007

BHM (Big Handsome Man) is the seldom-used personal-ad counterpart to BBW (Big Beautiful Woman).
Huggable
A man of stature
posted by agentofselection at 9:45 PM on October 10, 2007

Beefy is fat and muscular; wiry is thin and muscular.
posted by brujita at 10:42 PM on October 10, 2007

I'm often referred to as 'Hunk Of Love'

*Ahem*
posted by DrtyBlvd at 3:48 AM on October 11, 2007

My father's favorite (I think he invented this):

Ample.
posted by lohmannn at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2007

My friend likes guys of that build, she calls them "cuddly" or "teddybears"
posted by rmless at 9:49 AM on October 11, 2007

SAS - Straight Arm Shag
posted by hmca at 1:38 PM on October 12, 2007

Buffalo-Butt-Kentucky-Fried-Chicken-Eating Motherfucker.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 5:27 AM on November 5, 2007