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too cool for school

too cool for school

3 9.1
Being very confident and stylish in a way that seems unfriendly
  • idiom
  • /tu kul fɔr skul/
  • Slang
: demasiado genial para la escuela
  • I don't, I never worked with him or anything, but he was he just seemed like he was very too cool for school to the point where it wasn't cool.

I, I thought that he would probably be quite arrogant, too cool for school.

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Examples

  • Actually, we have Jung Sei Moo and the too cool for school Chung Zimmo new blush that she came out with.

  • Even the people that Pooh Pooh it or try to play, you know, like too cool for school or like don't believe in it.

  • But maybe that's being too cool for school, and at least immediately after the initial verification we can partake in some fairly harmless exuberance and celebration.

    Blog text (13)
  • At the party, he acted like he was too cool for school, refusing to dance with anyone.

  • She always dresses in the latest fashions, making it clear she is too cool for school.

  • Even though he tries to seem approachable, his attitude shows he's too cool for school.

Synonyms

cool
vstoo cool for school
  • Informal
∞ 2.2

Fashionable and attractive to many people

is more showy and distant, with exaggerated confidence and style
hotsy-totsy
vstoo cool for school
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Having a fashionable, attractive look, like new clothes or a neat room

is colder and more pretentious, showing deliberate aloof confidence
swaggy
vstoo cool for school
  • Slang
1 8.9

Looks stylish and confident in a cool way

is more aloof and deliberately affected in confidence and style
cool and stylish
vstoo cool for school
  • Slang
1 3.4

Looking fashionable and attractive in a way people admire

adds an extreme, aloof attitude and affected self-assurance

Antonyms

681 1.0

Normal and not special or unusual

Few people wear it now because it is not in style

How Cool

too cool for school
  • Slang
3 9.1
cool
  • Informal
∞ 2.2
confident
759 2.5
relaxed
216 1.0
casual
173 2.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

too + cool + for + school

The components 'too' (excessively) and 'cool' (stylish/confident) make clear that the expression refers to someone being excessively stylish or self-assured, so a learner can infer a basic sense. However, the segment 'for school' is idiomatic and conveys a social/pejorative nuance (aloofness or affected superiority) and slangy usage that is not fully predictable from the parts, so the full connotation may not be obvious to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Too cool for school comes from the picture of a student standing outside class in sunglasses and a stylish jacket, acting like they are too cool to need school. That's why it means someone who is very confident or a bit unfriendly, as if they think they are 'better than others'.