Talk:precocious

The English and American usages have different flavors. The American usage is somewhat complimentary, as in it's a good thing to play the piano at 3 yrears old. The British usage is decidedly uncomplimentary, often implying some sort of bad behavior, as in banging on the piano.


 * As an American I've always associated the word precocious with snooty/uppity, so I'm not sure I'd call the American intent 'complimentary'. Speed8ump from 207.235.66.3 23:15, 29 November 2006 (UTC)


 * In my experience, as an American, "precocious" has always at least had an indication of being "feisty", and is a term usually only used to describe somebody who "did wrong" with their early talent ("prodigy" is used for a better meaning). It's rather like the difference in meaning between "unusual" and "abnormal". They technically both mean the same thing, and yet they don't. --72.197.114.218 03:45, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

sexual connotation?
I've often heard this word used with a sexual connotation, as in, "...a mischievously precocious nine-year-old girl by the name of Rin Kokonoe..." (from ). I'm unsure as to whether or not this is covered by definition 1; but it seems (at least to me) to be sufficiently different to at least warrant a note. D4g0thur 04:46, 24 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Included in the meanings given. Usually the specific use is "sexually precocious". If there were use without "sexually" but with the same meaning in books or newspapers or Usenet, we would like to expand the entry to include it. It takes some research. Have you found some uses like that? DCDuring TALK 10:49, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

annoying connotation?
Precocious children can often be annoying if they talk about themselves too much, spew their opinions too much, don't listen to others, and lack a measure of self-effacement. 74.105.162.62 18:23, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Kolef