Etymology

big enough and ugly enough

Today it means: Mature, grown-up, old enough (with the implication that one can look after oneself and make one's own decisions). Full definition →

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The story

From the notion that youth, especially children, have a more beautiful and endearing appearance, thus maturity ought to make one not only bigger, but uglier too; though, in some cases, the opposite is true (see ugly duckling and its associated fairy tale, which illustrate such a case).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.