The linguist in me has to bitch about this line, because it is a redundancy, made by a man with an allegedly exceptional educational background and extreme cognitive ability. “To arrogate” means to claim to have achievements and/or abilities that are not in evidence, hence, the claims are unfounded. Misuse of language is a big deal to me.
Otherwise, this may be the show’s best season.
Let me see if I got this straight:
- Bob is a genius and reminds everyone around him that he is a genius at every possible opportunity, talks down to people he perceives as less intelligent, and genuinely considers them inferior to him.
- Jack is fairly intelligent but nowhere near genius level, yet he boasts about his intelligence and his accomplishments to everyone he meets.
Are you saying that of the two only Jack can be legitimately referred to as "arrogant", since Bob actually has the abilities he boasts about?
If so, I am sorry, but you are wrong.
The definition of arrogance does not imply lack of ability. The definition is (from Dictionary.com)
adjective
1. making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud: an arrogant public official.
2. characterized by or proceeding from arrogance, or a sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement: arrogant claims.
Merriam Webster's is slightly different:
Definition of arrogant
1 : exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner an arrogant official
2 : showing an offensive attitude of superiority : proceeding from or characterized by arrogance an arrogant reply
What I read from these definitions is that one boasts of one's abilities. It does not imply (though you might read that into Merriam's first definition) that one does not have the ability to back up one's boasts.
Take two brilliant physicists, equal in ability. One tells you constantly how great he is and the second downplays his abilities; both produce brilliant work. The first is arrogant, the second isn't.
To arrogate is, indeed, defined as you say and it is certainly related to arrogance. However, you are making the error of assuming the meaning one word carries over precisely to a related word.
You are all misunderstanding me, thought I salute the thought you put into your posts. I am not talking about characters whatsoever. My issue is with the phrase “unfounded arrogance,” an adjective based on the verb “to arrogate.” ALL true arrogance is unfounded. It’s not a complicated idea.
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