too arty
1
7.9
- adjective
- Informal
:
demasiado artístico
Examples
-
Tap into the film you're going to see (nothing too arty, obscure, or exclusive though), and the app will serve up a few options for optimum toilet time.
Blog text (27) -
He thought the milieu of film, or even films for TV, was far too arty, and he kept insisting she should be doing something more hard-edged, more concrete.
Fiction book (1991) -
The abstract painting was considered too arty for the gallery, which preferred more traditional styles.
-
Many found the film's visual effects too arty and not engaging enough for the average viewer.
-
Critics argued that the designer's latest collection was too arty, lacking practicality for everyday wear.
Synonyms
10
4.3
Having a creative, unusual style like an artist
5
9.9
Trying to seem artistic in a showy, overdone way
1
8.9
Trying to seem artistic in a way that feels false or silly
Something that looks artistic in a fake, too clever way to impress people
Showy art that follows old academic rules and lacks new ideas
Trying to look artistic in a homemade arts and crafts style that looks a bit silly
Too decorated so it looks showy and not natural
Too careful or polite to seem natural
Antonyms
How Artistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
too + arty
The meaning 'excessively artistic' is directly and compositionally derived from 'too' (exceedingly) plus 'arty' (artistic/related to art). This is a regular degree modifier + adjective pattern familiar to B1 learners (and mirrored in many languages), so someone who knows the constituent words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Too arty comes from the simple idea of something being too full of arty objects. Imagine a room crowded with strange paintings and sculptures that looks showy and is hard for most people to like, so 'too arty' now means 'too artistic or showy'.