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Tall poppy syndrome

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For the Leprous album, see Tall Poppy Syndrome (album).

Tarquinius Superbus by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, depicting the king sweeping the tallest heads from a patch of poppies

Tall poppy syndrome is a term which originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s that refers to people with notable public success, who excessively promote their own achievements and opinions.[1][2] Intense scrutiny and criticism of such a person is termed as "cutting down the tall poppy".[3]

Etymology

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The phrase "tall poppies" originates from Livy's account[4] of the tyrannical Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He is said to have received a messenger from his son Sextus Tarquinius asking what he should do next in Gabii, since he had become all-powerful there. Rather than answering the messenger verbally, Tarquin went into his garden, took a stick and swept it across his garden, thus cutting off the heads of the tallest poppies that were growing there. The messenger returned to Gabii and told Sextus what he had seen. Sextus realised that his father wished him to put to death all of the most eminent people of Gabii, which he then did.[4]

Earlier stories with the same theme are found in Aristotle's Politics[5] (in which Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, makes the gesture to a herald of Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus) and in Herodotus' Histories[6] (in which Thrasybulus makes the gesture to Periander's herald). However, these Greek stories involve fields of grain; Livy's Roman tale is the first to feature poppies.

Australia and New Zealand

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In Australia and New Zealand, "cutting down the tall poppy" is sometimes used by business entrepreneurs to describe those who deliberately criticise other people for their success and achievements.[1][7][8] It has been described as being the by-product of the Australian and New Zealand cultural value of egalitarianism.[1][9]

In other countries

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In Japan, a similar common expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down" (出る杭は打たれる).[10][11][12] In the Netherlands, this expression is "don't put your head above ground level" (boven het maaiveld uitsteken), with the cultural phenomenon being named maaiveldcultuur.[citation needed]

In Chile, this expression is known as chaquetear ('pull the jacket').[13] In Scandinavia, this expression is known as the Law of Jante. The Law of Jante originates from a 1933 novel by Aksel Sandemose. It contains rules and stipulations such as "you're not to think you are anything special" and "perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?".[14][15]

In Canada, the term "tall poppy syndrome" is used in particular to refer to successful women being criticised for their success.[16][17][18][19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Peeters, Bert (2004). "Tall poppies and egalitarianism in Australian discourse: From key word to cultural value". English World-Wide. 25 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1075/eww.25.1.02pee.
  2. ^ "Opinion | Tall poppies flourish Down Under". The New York Times. 26 February 2007. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. ^ Billan, Rumeet (31 December 2018). "The Tallest Poppy TM". Women of Influence. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Livy. Ab urbe condita. I.54.
  5. ^ Aristotle. Politics. Translated by Harris Rackham. III.1284a. The story is that Periander made no reply to the herald sent to ask his advice, but levelled the corn-field by plucking off the ears that stood out above the rest; and consequently, although the herald did not know the reason for what was going on, when he carried back news of what had occurred, Thrasybulus understood that he was to destroy the outstanding citizens.
  6. ^ Herodotus. Histories. Translated by A. D. Godley. V.92f. Thrasybulus led the man who had come from Periander outside the town, and entered into a sown field. As he walked through the corn, continually asking why the messenger had come to him from Corinth, he kept cutting off all the tallest ears of wheat which he could see, and throwing them away, until he had destroyed the best and richest part of the crop. Then, after passing through the place and speaking no word of counsel, he sent the herald away.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Jeffrey (2007). "Leadership and Culture in New Zealand". In Chhokar, Jagdeep; Brodbeck, Felix; House, Robert (eds.). Culture and Leadership Across the World: The GLOBE Book of In-Depth Studies of 25 Societies. United States: Psychology Press. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-8058-5997-3.
  8. ^ Holmes, Janet; Marra, Meredith; Lazzaro-Salazar, Mariana (28 March 2017). "Negotiating the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand workplaces: women leaders managing the challenge". Gender and Language. 11 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1558/genl.31236. ISSN 1747-633X.
  9. ^ Levine, Stephen (20 June 2012). "Political values - Political values and the 'Kiwi' way of life". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  10. ^ ことわざを知る辞典,デジタル大辞泉. "出る杭は打たれるとは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. ^ "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down". The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Oxford University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-953953-6.
  12. ^ "WWWJDIC: Word Display".
  13. ^ "chaquetear". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  14. ^ Cappelen, Cornelius; Dahlberg, Stefan (August 2017). "The Law of Jante and generalized trust". Acta Sociologica. 61 (4): 419–440. doi:10.1177/0001699317717319. ISSN 0001-6993. S2CID 149143718.
  15. ^ Sandemose, Aksel (1966). En flyktning krysser sitt spor (in Norwegian). Aschehoug.
  16. ^ "Tall Poppy Syndrome is impacting corporations, and it's not just a women's issue". Globe and Mail. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  17. ^ Wilson, Jim (2 March 2023). "9 in 10 women experiencing 'Tall Poppy Syndrome'". Canadian HR Reporter. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Canada is hiking taxes and regulating business as the neighboring U.S. economy booms". Fortune. 6 May 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Majority of female leaders experience Tall Poppy Syndrome". Daily News. McMaster University. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2024.

Further reading

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Look up tall poppy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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