View source for Square (slang)

{{Short description|Slang term}}
{{pp-move-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{italic title}}'''''Square''''' is slang for a person who is conventional and old-fashioned, similar to a [[fuddy-duddy]].<ref name=OEDadj>{{Cite OED|square, ''adj.'', d.}}</ref><ref name=OEDnoun>{{Cite OED|square, ''n.'', 16 a.}}</ref><ref name=OEtymD>{{OEtymD|square|accessdate=March 29, 2018}}</ref> This sense of the word "[[square]]" originated with the American [[jazz]] community in the 1940s in reference to people out of touch with musical trends.<ref name=OEDadj/> Older senses of the term ''square'', referring positively to someone or something honest and upstanding, date back to the 16th century.<ref name=OEtymD/><ref name=OEDadj2>{{Cite OED|square, ''adj.'', c.}}</ref>

==History==
The English word ''[[square]]'' dates to the 13th century and derives from the [[Old French]] ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esquarre esquarre]''.By the 1570s, it was in use in reference to someone or something honest or fair.<ref name=OEtymD/><ref name=OEDadj2/> This positive sense is preserved in phrases such as "[[wikt:fair and square|fair and square]]", meaning something done in an honest and straightforward manner,<ref>{{Cite OED|fair and square, ''adv.'' and ''adj.''}}</ref> and "[[Square Deal#Coining of the term|square deal]]", meaning an outcome equitable to all sides.<ref>{{Cite OED|deal, ''n.2'' 2. c.}}</ref> A [[West Country]] variant on the phrase, "fairs pears", bears the same meaning and was first traced by Cecil Sharp in 1903 when visiting his friend (and lyrics editor) [[Charles Marson]] in Hambridge, South Somerset. <ref>Sharp, C and Marson, C ''Folk Songs from Somerset vols 1-3'' 1904-1906 Simpkin</ref>

The sense of ''square'' as a derogatory reference to someone conventional or old-fashioned dates to the [[jazz]] scene of the 1940s; the first known reference is from 1944. There it applied to someone who failed to appreciate the medium of jazz, or more broadly, someone whose tastes were out of date and out of touch. It may derive from the rigid motion of a [[conductor (music)|conductor]]'s hands in a conventional, four-beat rhythm.<ref name=OEtymD/> It is used as both an adjective and a noun.<ref name=OEDadj/><ref name=OEDnoun/> A square contrasted with someone who was ''[[Hip (slang)|hip]]'', or in the know.<ref name=OEDadj/>
The cub scout promise included the pledge "to be square" from the 1950s to the 1970s. In contemporary language, U.S. branches of the military refer to "squared away" to describe things that are ordered.

== In popular culture ==
According to American singer [[Huey Lewis]], his 1986 single "[[Hip to Be Square]]" unintentionally became an "anthem for square people".<ref name="ew">{{cite magazine |last=Blerly |first=Mandi |date=August 4, 2008 |title=Name That Movie Mondays! (Vol. 7: Special Huey Lewis & the News edition) |url=https://ew.com/article/2008/08/04/huey-lewis-the/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{wikt|square}}
* [[The Man]]
* [[The Establishment]]

==References==
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[[Category:1940s slang]]
[[Category:1950s slang]]
[[Category:1960s slang]]
[[Category:1970s slang]]
[[Category:American slang]]
[[Category:Jazz culture]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]
[[Category:Slang]]


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