Meanings
alternative big and ugly enough
- informalMature, grown-up, old enough (with the implication that one can look after oneself and make one's own decisions).
Don't worry – he'll come home. He's big enough and ugly enough to look after himself.
2014, Maggie Caldwell, Deceitful Desires, →ISBN, page 3451 more example
Her aunt answered, 'You just go off my child. There are two young women here who are big enough and ugly enough to help me with the dishes.'
2002, Nokuthula Mazibuko, In the Fast Lane, →ISBN, page 59
Origin
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).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish aikuinen
- aikuinenTranslations
French majeur et vacciné
- majeur et vaccinéTranslations
Polish pełnoletni
- pełnoletniTranslations
Cite this entry
big enough and ugly enough. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20enough%20and%20ugly%20enough
“big enough and ugly enough.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20enough%20and%20ugly%20enough. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big enough and ugly enough,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20enough%20and%20ugly%20enough.
Source: big enough and ugly enough on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.