More Succinct Phrase Please 4

[MeGustaXL]

How can I clearly and succinctly describe the sort of person who behaves in a certain way, just because:
a. They can. "Everyone can do whatever they like in a free country"
b. It's not illegal/immoral. "Do you have a problem with me doing this?"
c. They like to be different.
d. They wish to provoke a reaction.
e...tcetera, etcetera.

Some examples:

Offspring that affect to enjoy a particularly raucous brand of music, simply because I don't like it.

Ramblers and Walkers who decide to walk across a field where sheep are grazing, simply to exercise their right to use the recently-discovered Public Footpath, unearthed in a dusty map from the bowels of the Library. When the landowner protests that he would have liked some warning so that he could have moved the sheep, the incensed Ramblers wail about their loss of "Freedom To Roam"

Persons who follow an unusual diet regime involving boiling up foul-smelling ingredients for several hours at a time, making the building virtually uninhabitable for others, simply because it's a free country and one can eat whatever the heck one likes.

Cyclists.

I'm sure you can think of several more examples, but what is the collective noun, if you like, for such people?

Bloody-minded Morons? Teenagers?

Chris

Don't count the days, make the days count

Muhammad Ali

 

[flapeyre]

Intelligent donkey (paraphrased)

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[philhege]

North end of a southbound horse.

 

[ESquared]

obstreperous

And doing a thesaurus search on obstreperous, I find defiant which has synonyms:

contrary, contumacious, defiant, disorderly, fractious, froward, headstrong, insubordinate, intractable, mischievous, naughty, noncompliant, nonobservant, perverse, recalcitrant, refractory, resistive, uncompliant, undisciplined, unruly, wayward, willful

I also saw rascal.

And I think "orinary" is simply a misspelling of "ornery.

 

[Welshbird]

It probably is a misspelling. Sorry -

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[Prognewb]

I call them "****" disturbers. They get a rise out of disturbing other people's, well, "****". I think because it gives them some sense of control over others that they may not have in their own lives. I ignore/avoid them as much as possible.

 

[Welshbird]

I see eccentric as being a different meaning to this though. To me eccentric people are much more odd rather than just different in outlook.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[MeGustaXL]

Thank you, Thank you all for your marvelous submissions!

I especially like "obstreperous", and its first few synonyms: contrary, contumacious, defiant, disorderly, fractious, froward and especially headstrong

I believe the latter is precisely the word I need; similar to my OP's "bloody-minded", but in a single word - perfect!

STAR for ESquared [aside]Hey, E - you keep giving me spot-on advice like that, people will start to talk about us... [/aside]



Chris

Don't count the days, make the days count

Muhammad Ali

 

[KenCunningham]

Rather late to this but cussed does it for me.

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[stubnski]

for the teenagers - rebellious


Stubnski

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> No aggression, no quarrelsomeness, no superciliousness; sometimes even the nicest, calmest people can exhibit this quality of....WHAT?

I think obstreperous is a great word (I wish I had though of it), but I'm not sure it's consistent, at least not my perception of someone who is obstreperous, with the above quote.


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[ESquared]

Obstreperous isn't really all those things, I agree CC. My impression of it has always been something like "unruly, unmanageable, having a mind of its own, ignoring the wishes of others."

I remember it from one of my favorite books as a child, The Obstreperous Kite, which gets no hits at all on google search. I wonder if my family still has that book somewhere.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Agreed, but I also tend to associate noisy and boisterous with obstreperous.

That sounds like an interesting book; I hope you can find it.



--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[ESquared]

Well, in the case of the book, the kite didn't make noises, but it did make faces, some of them rather mean-looking.

 

[MeGustaXL]

I'd also like to record a vote for sleipnir214's offering:

referred to thinking of that type as contrarianism, and to a person who indulges that type of thinking is a contrarian

A belated STAR for sleipnir214!

So, henceforth shall ye name such foul, irritating 'people' "[red]Headstrong Contrarians[/red]"



Chris

Don't count the days, make the days count

Muhammad Ali

 

[Michael52x]

Contrarian is close, but I think that either selfish, or brat is best.

"Impatience will reward you with dissatisfaction" RMS Cosmics'97

 

[Rofeu]

how about obstinate?

 

[LNBruno]

I generally refer to a person like that as a PITA.

< M!ke >
[small]"Oops" is never a good thing.[/small]

 

[MeGustaXL]

Rofeu : obstinacy is sometimes a trait displayed by Headstrong Contrarians (HC's), but how about Cyclists?

The really dedicated ones wear ludicrous clothing, wraparound mirror shades and those laughable hats, while screaming blue murder at any motorist whose door mirrors overhang the cycle lane. They're not obstinate but just sticking up for their rights - typical HC behaviour, in fact.

Chris

Don't count the days, make the days count

Muhammad Ali

 

[ESquared]

What's wrong with cyclists? By law, a bicycle has as much right to the road as a car and must follow most of the same rules. Cyclists can even get tickets for drunk driving, speeding, unsafe lane changes, failing to stop at a stop sign, running red lights, and so on.

 

[MeGustaXL]

[tongue in cheek]
As my OP said, I need a term to describe folks who do things,

It's not illegal/immoral. "Do you have a problem with me doing this?"

and I added, totally and completely to get a reaction: "Cyclists"

Cyclists can even get tickets for drunk driving, speeding, unsafe lane changes, failing to stop at a stop sign, running red lights, and so on

Quite, but how many are actually prosecuted for doing these things? Not me, and I've done 'em all, except speeding - I'm not that fit!

They're still HC's

[/tongue in cheek]

Chris

Don't count the days, make the days count

Muhammad Ali