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

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

WCityMike — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:08:56 -0800

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.)

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:09:34 -0800

Portly.

By: moonshine

moonshine — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:13:12 -0800

Stocky

By: Salvatorparadise

Salvatorparadise — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:13:52 -0800

hefty

brick shithouse

By: milarepa

milarepa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:14:16 -0800

Husky.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:14:26 -0800

Rotund?

By: dendrite

dendrite — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:15:08 -0800

big-boned
cherubic (a stretch)
barrel-chested

By: Comrade_robot

Comrade_robot — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:15:58 -0800

Corpulent.

By: netsirk

netsirk — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:16:39 -0800

in asia: prosperous

By: Rock Steady

Rock Steady — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:16:56 -0800

pudgy

By: frobozz

frobozz — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:17:01 -0800

Heavyset.

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:17:54 -0800

"He's a big guy."

By: jbickers

jbickers — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:18:25 -0800

doughy, big boy, pop'n fresh

By: jamaro

jamaro — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:19:23 -0800

thickset

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:24:48 -0800

robust

By: Forktine

Forktine — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:28:34 -0800

chunky

heavy

"like a big teddy-bear"

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:29:57 -0800

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.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:30:09 -0800

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

By: The GoBotSodomizer

The GoBotSodomizer — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:46:24 -0800

Huge/massive/ginormous/hulking.

(extra points if you can say "huge friggin' guy" with a Boston accent.)

By: afx237vi

afx237vi — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:50:37 -0800

Chubby.

By: rob511

rob511 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:56:40 -0800

well-fed
fleshy
adipose
ovoid
corn-fed
Falstaffian
cannibal-bait
"jolly"

By: uandt

uandt — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:58:12 -0800

Great gorger.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:09:45 -0800

rob511: interesting. To me, 'corn-fed' implies that solid sort of farm boy body. No fat, just.. solid.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:22:37 -0800

(said archly) "prominent citizen."

Has a big bay window.

Well-upholstered.

Tubby.

Carrying a little extra.

By: jayder

jayder — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:29:38 -0800

Like I said before, flabby.

By: desuetude

desuetude — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:36:46 -0800

Erm, a lot of these aren't "positive or neutral" in connotation.

By: thinkingwoman

thinkingwoman — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:41:35 -0800

"heavyset" and "portly" are probably the most common. both are inoffensive, yet commonly understood to mean "overweight."

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:57:08 -0800

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

Go with "gigantor."

By: jamjam

jamjam — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:01:27 -0800

Imposing, substantial, massive, well fed.

By: cardboard

cardboard — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:03:10 -0800

In tailoring, they sometimes refer to a "prominent seat", but I would say portly is pretty close to neutral.

By: wafaa

wafaa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:17:13 -0800

Pear-shaped.

By: sandra_s

sandra_s — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:30:02 -0800

"A man of executive carriage"

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:31:46 -0800

doesn't pear-shaped have a negative connotation due to its other usage? ("things have gone pear-shaped")

By: thebrokenmuse

thebrokenmuse — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:31:59 -0800

Cuddle-worthy! Like a teddy bear!

By: matildaben

matildaben — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:33:25 -0800

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

I just call my best friend "a big guy".

By: jayder

jayder — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:39:07 -0800

"Big Daddy"

By: maudlin

maudlin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:57:09 -0800

Built for comfort.

By: bunnycup

bunnycup — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:01:50 -0800

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.

By: clearlydemon

clearlydemon — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:07:28 -0800

Thick around the middle.

By: brandz

brandz — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:45:43 -0800

voluptuous

By: Elsa

Elsa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:51:56 -0800

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?"

By: JujuB

JujuB — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:22:35 -0800

"Fluffy"

"He has chester drawer disease"
(That is when his chest fell into his drawers).

By: bunglin jones

bunglin jones — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:26:04 -0800

"He's got a big verandah over the toolshed"

By: Elsa

Elsa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:17:35 -0800

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.

By: Elsa

Elsa — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:20:44 -0800

Wow, way to be heterosexist, me. I should have said "some people really enjoy..." My error.

By: Saydur

Saydur — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:27:51 -0800

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.

By: agentofselection

agentofselection — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:45:18 -0800

BHM (Big Handsome Man) is the seldom-used personal-ad counterpart to BBW (Big Beautiful Woman).
Huggable
A man of stature

By: brujita

brujita — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:42:32 -0800

Beefy is fat and muscular; wiry is thin and muscular.

By: DrtyBlvd

DrtyBlvd — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:48:35 -0800

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

*Ahem*

By: lohmannn

lohmannn — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:41:35 -0800

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

Ample.

By: rmless

rmless — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:49:03 -0800

My friend likes guys of that build, she calls them "cuddly" or "teddybears"

By: hmca

hmca — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:38:43 -0800

SAS - Straight Arm Shag

By: DrtyBlvd

DrtyBlvd — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:27:54 -0800

Buffalo-Butt-Kentucky-Fried-Chicken-Eating Motherfucker.