Definition
An American government representative, tourist, or businessperson who, in dealing with people of other nations, is haughty, rude, meddlesome, chauvinistic, or jingoistic.
Origins
From the novel The Ugly American (1958) by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick (though the character in the novel is only physically ugly and otherwise morally upright).
In Context
- "The Republican House managers were acting like ugly Americans abroad who think that if they talk loudly and slowly, foreigners will understand them."
- "Quinn throws himself into the role of the vain, heavy-drinking bully with gusto[…]. He's precisely the kind of ugly American people cringe upon meeting—loud, demanding and arrogant, a bottle of Scotch never far from his elbow."
- "The US […]turned into an overweening global bully […]. In the persons of Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the Ugly American was back."
- "For the last fortnight, Trump has presented himself to the world as the caricature of the ugly American: loud, boorish and ill-informed."
- "“We try so hard not to be the ugly American, and here is Emily with her terrible accent and garish clothing, shouting at French people in English and expecting them to understand,” she said."