Dear Hivemind

[kerravonsen]

Why is "mouth breather" considered to be an insult?

Comments

[tree_and_leaf]

Possibly because you look gormless if you wander about with your mouth slightly open all the time?

[watervole]

Never heard it as an insult. Must be an Aussie thing?

Maybe someone who gawps with their mouth wide open?

[kerravonsen]

No, it's not an Aussie thing; I came across it in some fiction. Apparently it's an American thing (according to other answers people have given).

For me, it's a fascinating example of cognitive dissonance: because I don't speak the US dialect of English, while I can intellectually understand how it could be perceived as an insult, my emotional reaction to the phrase is still neutral, rather than negative.

[cheyinka]

When I tried to answer the question, the answer that came to mind is "someone who's too stupid to know how to breathe through eir nose" but I'm not really sure how that makes any sense. I think it's just one of those things. (Though I've only ever heard it as an addition to an existing insult, like "mouthbreathing idiot".)

[kerravonsen]

I could have understood it if it had been "mouthbreathing idiot", but in the story I was reading, it didn't have that, it just had "mouth breather" and the context made it clear that it was an insult, and it really puzzled me.

[foxfirefey]

Oh Wikipedia:

In North America, mouth breathing in public is sometimes considered to be less socially acceptable or attractive than nose breathing, as mouth breathers can appear to have a somewhat "slack jawed" look, and mouth breathing can cause or exacerbate bad breath[citation needed]. Thus the term 'mouth breather' is used as an insult towards a person with a perceived lack of intelligence or someone with poor social skills. This pejorative term should not be confused with the medical description of mouth breathing - indeed, it is used as a general form of insult, and not necessarily to refer to people who breathe through the mouth. This term is widespread as a pejorative in America, but is rarely used in other parts of the world.

[kerravonsen]

Thank you! I came across it in a piece of fiction, and it puzzled me.

[raine]

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/mouth+breather has a great explanation. Basically, it's that slack-jaw, drooling idiot look.

[kerravonsen]

Ta!

[raine]

:-) You're welcome. For what it's worth, I think it's even more of a regionalism than just US -- it's certainly not one I'm familiar with living in the Pacific NW.

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

It's considered 'uncouth' to breath through your mouth rather than your nose - mind you, it's also bad manners to call someone a 'mouth breather'!