Is "You look smart" a compliment?

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ZOEYW

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Hey there,

My professor told me in his office that I look smart; however, I do not think I can take it as a compliment in this situation. Okay, my question is is the expression can be used when you are trying to sarcast someone?

Thanks,
 
Your title 'You look smart' is a compliment? was incorrectly phrased. I've edited it lest other students think that's how we ask a question.

ZOEYW said:
My professor told me in his office that I look smart; however, I do not think I can take it as a compliment in this situation. [STRIKE]Okay,[/STRIKE] My question is: can the expression [STRIKE]can[/STRIKE] be used when you are being sarcastic to someone?
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Had you taken some trouble to dress smartly? If so, it was a compliment.

Did you look scruffy and unkempt? If so it was a sarcastic remark.
 
I appreciate the correctness of the thread title as well as my question! Thanks.
 
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ZOEYW said:
I appreciate the correctness of the thread title as well as my question! Thanks.
Click to expand...

In case you were wondering, in this case "look smart" has nothing to do with intelligence. It means "fashionable".
 
I agree that it has nothing to do with intelligence. I don't agree that it means fashionable. I could look smart in clothes from the 1950s, for example. Unless it has had a resurgence of which I am unaware, 1950s clothing is not currently fashionable.

It simply means "well-presented" or "nicely turned out".
 
emsr2d2 said:
I agree that it has nothing to do with intelligence. I don't agree that it means fashionable. I could look smart in clothes from the 1950s, for example. Unless it has had a resurgence of which I am unaware, 1950s clothing is not currently fashionable.

It simply means "well-presented" or "nicely turned out".
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IMO, a woman can look fashionable in the clothes of almost any era. A woman in a a 1930's era man's suit can be very fashionable, depending on the occasion. The same goes for a tuxedo.
 
In the days when I wore a uniform, I tried to look smart. I certainly didn't look fashionable.
 
MikeNewYork said:
IMO, a woman can look fashionable in the clothes of almost any era. A woman in a a 1930's era man's suit can be very fashionable, depending on the occasion.
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I would say that it depends on the current fashion rather than the occasion. If 1930s men's suits, or clothes of that type, are currntly 'in', then they're fashionable. If not, they're smart, attractive, bold, interesting or a hundred other things, but not fashionable, in my opinion.
 
5jj said:
I would say that it depends on the current fashion rather than the occasion. If 1930s men's suits, or clothes of that type, are currntly 'in', then they're fashionable. If not, they're smart, attractive, bold, interesting or a hundred other things, but not fashionable, in my opinion.
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'

"Fashionable" is mostly a matter of taste. I have been on red carpets with many women who were fashionable and smart no matter what the era of the fashion was.
 
I think we've potentially hit another AmE vs BrE difference in the definition of "fashionable". Here, it means "wearing the current fashion of the day" - that's not a matter of taste as such, it's set by the fashion houses and designers, and then by up-to-date clothes shops. Marks and Spencer sell very smart clothing - one of their problems economically is that they don't sell fashionable clothing so they have lost a huge chunk of their potential market.
 
emsr2d2 said:
I think we've potentially hit another AmE vs BrE difference in the definition of "fashionable". Here, it means "wearing the current fashion of the day" - that's not a matter of taste as such, it's set by the fashion houses and designers, and then by up-to-date clothes shops. Marks and Spencer sell very smart clothing - one of their problems economically is that they don't sell fashionable clothing so they have lost a huge chunk of their potential market.
Click to expand...

It may well be. Here, "fashionable" is determined more by the people who are doing the wearing than people who are doing the designing. But there is overlap.
 
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