--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At root, vulgar just means popular on a…" description: "\"At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby. It is humility with a comb-over. It is Nielse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/david-foster-wallace-161_axioms_at-root-vulgar-just-means-popular-on-a-m_295378.jpg" --- # At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is… ![“At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby. It is humility with a comb-over. It is Nielsen ratings and Barnum's axiom and the real bottom line. It is big, big business.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/david-foster-wallace-161_axioms_at-root-vulgar-just-means-popular-on-a-m_295378.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/david-foster-wallace-161_axioms_at-root-vulgar-just-means-popular-on-a-m_295378.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/053/david-foster-wallace-161_axioms_at-root-vulgar-just-means-popular-on-a-m_295378.jpg) > “At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby. It is humility with a comb-over. It is Nielsen ratings and Barnum's axiom and the real bottom line. It is big, big business.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Popularity is equated with vulgarity, contrasting with pretentiousness, and linked to mass appeal and commercial success. **In simple terms:** Popular = vulgar; pretentious = elite. Key Takeaway Recognize when mass appeal drives value. Themes popularity vulgarity commercialism humility Mood critical analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - advertising - brand strategy - media criticism - consumer behavior Key Concepts mass culture semantic opposition media influence Questions to Reflect On - How does mass appeal affect perceived value? - When is vulgarity a strength? A Different Perspective Popularity can mask quality or depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Axioms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/axioms/) [Big business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-business/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Bottom line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom-line/) [Combs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combs/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means/) [Means Popular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-popular-1152976/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-it/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/) [Rating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rating/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Root Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root-vulgar-2833302/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Snobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snobby/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) [Vulgar Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar-just-2813354/) ## Related quotes > [“At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/at-root-vulgar-just-means-popular-on-a-mass-scale-it-is-the-semantic-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To appear at church every Sunday; to look down upon, and let himself be looked at for an hour by the congregation, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/to-appear-at-church-every-sunday-to-look-down-upon-and-let-himself-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Never fear being vulgar, just boring, middle class or dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/never-fear-being-vulgar-just-boring-middle-class-or-dull/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [“All crime is vulgar, just as all vulgarity is a crime”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-crime-is-vulgar-just-as-all-vulgarity-is-a-crime/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-economist/a-lot-of-the-people-who-read-a-bestselling-novel-for-example-do-not/) [The Economist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-economist/) > [Pop just means popular - it can be any genre, and if it becomes popular, then it's pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-tranter/pop-just-means-popular-it-can-be-any-genre-and-if-it-becomes-popular/) [Justin Tranter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-tranter/) > [“All crime is vulgar, just as all vulgarity is crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-crime-is-vulgar-just-as-all-vulgarity-is-crime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was not trying to be snarky or snobby by saying that West Palm Beach is no Palm Beach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinsley-mortimer/i-was-not-trying-to-be-snarky-or-snobby-by-saying-that-west-palm/) [Tinsley Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinsley-mortimer/) > [I was under the misconception that I have oily skin, I'm prone to breakouts, I shouldn't moisturize or put anything on my face. 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But I'm literally scared to talk to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-ramone/because-i-m-quiet-people-think-i-m-really-cold-or-rude-or-snobby-but/) [Dee Dee Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-ramone/) > [Hip-hop got so ravaged, it's snobby now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inspectah-deck/hip-hop-got-so-ravaged-it-s-snobby-now/) [Inspectah Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inspectah-deck/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. 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I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We should never forget the two axioms: 'Jesus is with me' and whatever happens, happens by the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-foucauld/we-should-never-forget-the-two-axioms-jesus-is-with-me-and-whatever/) [Charles de Foucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-foucauld/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Based on the considerations of history, ancient history, and international axioms, the logic of following up a citizen with his shadow for the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/based-on-the-considerations-of-history-ancient-history-and/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [For an act may be wrong judged purely by itself, but when the motive that prompted the act is understood, it is construed differently.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-keckley/for-an-act-may-be-wrong-judged-purely-by-itself-but-when-the-motive/) [Elizabeth Keckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-keckley/) > [But if men would give heed to the nature of substance they would doubt less concerning the Proposition that Existence appertains to the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/but-if-men-would-give-heed-to-the-nature-of-substance-they-would/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Geometry, like arithmetic, requires for its logical development only a small number of simple, fundamental principles. 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