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Joined: Mar 2000
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OP
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It occurred to me that the old word "dapper" is hardly encountered anymore. (It was present once in the whole AWAD forum, and then only in a quoted poem). Did anybody find it in recent use? and, more specifically and interestingly, did anybody find it used referring to a female person?
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Joined: Feb 2002
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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I use the word now and then (I've used it in the past month, in fact) -- but I don't think I've ever used it to describe a woman (I might say 'elegant' for a woman)
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I'm used to hearing the phrase "Dapper Dan". If asked I would've professed to thinking that it was ONLY appropriate for describing men. I think of dapper as suit and tie, hair nicely combed (none of those wild youngun gel waves) and sophisticated in speech and manner. Living here in Central Alabama I haven't encountered any use of the word in years!!!! Sorry, milum - I don't suppose we've met yet or perhaps I would have. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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TIME magazine recently carried obituary of John Gotti, a very powerful Mafia don, who was
called first "The Dapper Don" because of his two thousand dollar suits, later called
"The Teflon Don" because of difficulty prosecutors had in convicting him.
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addict
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addict
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I got this from the Australian Macquarie dictionary:
dapper
// adjective 1. neat; trim; smart. 2. small and active. [Middle English: pretty, elegant]
--dapperly, adverb
--dapperness, noun
In which case, boronia, elegant for women seems right. I had no idea that dapper meant 'small and active' though, interesting... some people wouldn't want to be called dapper I imagine, but I've always thought of it as a compliment.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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old hand
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Aussie dictionary makes sense, hev. I might refer to a terrier as being "dapper" but not a St Bernard! (great slobbery things that they are - but then, even a greyhound wouldn't be "dapper" really, 'coz it's too BIG - size does count! with reference to "dapper," anyway)
Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.
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veteran
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I think of dapper as suit and tie, hair nicely combed..and sophisticated in speech and mannerLikewise, Carolyn (pleased to meet you by the way ) Interesting that the meaning appears to have carried all over the world so consistently, as I'd always thought the term fairly Britlish. We'd talk about a "dapper gent" - always being someone wearing a suit (or well-matched jacket and trousers) and tie. Definitely an exquisite dress sense; also an implication of small & neat (ties in with Hev's dictionary definition). You don't get young men referred to as "dapper" much. Suppose very few young men wear suits all the time, which is requisite of the label. Even older men have generally become more laid-back these days. Suppose dapper gents are a dying breed.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hi all!
I've used the word dapper for a very specific type of man, any age, similar to what's been said but to be dappper he must also have a certain je ne sais quoi, a certain verve, or simply a man who looks well put together, has pride in his appearance, perhaps a bit of a rogue with a twinkle in his eye.
Strange but I've never used the word in reference to a tall man (over six foot.) Dapper men, to me, are always shorter than average up to medium height.
In any case when I use it I always mean it as a compliment!
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OP
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You don't get young men referred to as "dapper" much.
This confirms my hunch that "dapper" is something like the antipode to "cool"
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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<<antipode to 'cool'>>
But then, if you're talking geography, the antipode to cool is cool--I use "dapper' often enough, if a bit more broadly then the the rest. That is, I probably probably not say it of a man in *any* suit. However, a gangster might be dapper, and not thereby uncool.
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