Tall, dark and handsome

[Curious Cat]

Hi, pals,

I have a query :)

- Is the phrase "tall, dark and handsome" American, or is it used by the British speakers too?

-What if a man is very good-looking but not dark and not tall :) ? Can one say that he is "tall, dark and handsome" anyway?

- Is this phrase slangish, colloquial or neutral? What shall I use if I want, for instance, to tell my male friend (not a boyfriend:) that he looks gorgeous, in neutral words ?

Hope the questions are not too strange ;)
Thanks in advance

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by Curious Cat

Hi, pals,

I have a query :)

- Is the phrase "tall, dark and handsome" American, or is it used by the British speakers too?

-What if a man is very good-looking but not dark and not tall :) ? Can one say that he is "tall, dark and handsome" anyway?

- Is this phrase slangish, colloquial or neutral? What shall I use if I want, for instance, to tell my male friend (not a boyfriend:) that he looks gorgeous, in neutral words ?

Hope the questions are not too strange ;)
Thanks in advance

Dark, tall and handsome is a cliche and yes, it is used a lot in N. America. I imagine the same applies to Britain. I guess it's just a staple phrase to discribe a guy that falls into the "hottie", "cutie", "eye candy" category but it's not to say that a guy with blond hair and medium height can't be just as hot!

Dark, tall and handsome seems to be quite neutral to me. You can just say that your friend is a good looking guy, you find him very attractive or you think he's got a very pleasing appearance.

[Curious Cat]

Thanks, Marylin, this is helpful. I think I'll continue to improve my skills of paying compliments to men

[Tdol]

It's used in British English.

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by Curious Cat

Thanks, Marylin, this is helpful. I think I'll continue to improve my skills of paying compliments to men

You are welcome. Nothing wrong with telling a guy he is good looking, especially when he is a real hunk!

[Tdol]

Nothing wrong with telling a guy he is good looking, especially when he isn't.

[Curious Cat]

Hee hee Thanks a lot, people.

[tot2ivn]

Thanks folks for your help.
However, it's quite interesting that our Vietnamese Lang also has this kind of compliment for men.
Coincidence !!!

[Curious Cat]

Would you translate the Vietnamese phrase in English for us? That would be interesting to know how people from different cultures compliment their men

[tot2ivn]

Yeah, the expression is word-by-word translated as : tall, big, dark and stinking !.
The meaning of the whole sentence is to compliment a man is nice, good-looking but a little bit dump (a country guy).