button-down
1
6.7
- adjective
- /ˈbʌtənˌdaʊn/
- Informal
:
convencional
- Each of them was more creative and more productive than the average button-down-collar-wearing corporate plug-in personality.
- live a button-down
You were very button down and professional then you you love getting the laughs, the chuckles.
- You were very button down and professional then you you love getting the laughs, the chuckles.
Examples
-
I do understand that because you are a published author, you may feel compelled to produce politically correct articles and dispense button-down type answers.
Blog text (25) -
How about if we just go quietly into the bathroom and I wash your mouth out with soap—you pathetic button-down bureaucratic asshole?
Fiction book (1996) -
You were very button down and professional then you you love getting the laughs, the chuckles.
-
We lived in a button-down suburb of Boston, and we were waking up the neighbors one by one.
Fiction book (2001) -
The second one isn't quite as introverted as the first, and the third isn't quite the button-down conformist the other two are.
Fiction book (1995) -
Many people find the button-down dress code at the office to be stifling and uninspiring.
-
She prefers to wear colorful and creative outfits, unlike her button-down colleagues.
-
His button-down personality made him less willing to try new experiences or take risks.
Synonyms
∞
4.6
Does not want big changes and likes traditional values
2
7.4
Very formal and conservative in dress and manner at work or events
1
7.1
Very formal and traditional in dress, behavior, or thinking
Antonyms
How Conventional
8
7.8
- Informal
1
6.7
994
1.5
175
2.8
77
6.2
250
3.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
button-down = button-down (opaque) = down + button
The adjective is a figurative conversion from the clothing/style term, and the meaning 'conventional or conservative' is not predictable from standard word-formation rules.
Etymology
Button-down also describes people or places that are very neat and traditional. This meaning comes from the tidy look of a shirt with its collar buttoned down, so calling someone button-down says they are careful and not daring.