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[0315] Thick-skinned

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English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • Describes someone who is not easily upset, offended, or hurt by criticism, insults, rejection, or difficult situations.
  • They possess emotional resilience and don't take negativity personally.

Origin

  • A metaphor comparing emotional resilience to having physically thick skin that is difficult to penetrate or injure.
  • If criticism or insults are thrown at the person, they don't pierce the thick skin to cause emotional pain.
  • The term has been used in English since at least the early 19th century.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Resilient, tough, durable, impervious, unflappable, stoical, insensitive (can be negative), hard-nosed, has a hide like a rhinoceros (idiom).

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • Tough cookie (Implies general resilience to hardship, not just criticism)
  • Got balls / Ballsy / Gutsy (Vulgar/informal slang, implies courage and resilience, often in facing confrontation or risk)
  • Doesn't give a fuck / Doesn't give a shit (Vulgar, implies complete indifference to criticism or negative opinions)
  • Water off a duck's back (Idiom, criticism doesn't affect them)
  • Teflon / Teflon-coated (Metaphor, negative comments/criticism don't 'stick')
  • Hard / Tough

Vulgar/Emphatic:

  • Hard as nails (Implies extreme toughness, perhaps unemotional resilience)
  • Stone-cold (Can imply resilience bordering on lack of feeling)

Milder/More Formal:

  • Resilient
  • Impervious (to criticism)
  • Unflappable (Remains calm under pressure)
  • Stoical / Stoic (Endures hardship/pain without complaint or showing feelings)
  • Insensitive (Negative connotation: lacks awareness or consideration of others' feelings, unfeeling)
  • Unperturbed / Unfazed
  • Strong / Emotionally strong

Situational Appropriateness

  • Generally acceptable in most informal and semi-formal contexts.
  • Usually seen as a positive or necessary quality, especially in challenging professions or public life.
  • Can occasionally carry a slight negative implication of being insensitive or unempathetic if the person seems *too* unaffected by things that perhaps *should* affect them.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • Usually clearly understood as emotional resilience.
  • Important to distinguish from thick meaning stupid or dense. Context makes this clear.
  • Ensure it's understood as resisting offense, not necessarily lacking all feeling (though insensitive is a possible negative interpretation).

Examples

  • You need to be thick-skinned to survive in the competitive world of politics.
  • He received some harsh reviews, but he's pretty thick-skinned and just focused on his next project.
  • Don't worry about her teasing; she's just joking and knows you're thick-skinned enough to take it.

Dialogue

Chris: Wow, the comments section on your blog post got pretty nasty. Are you okay?

Dana: Yeah, I'm fine. You develop a thick skin doing this work. Can't let anonymous trolls get to you.

Chris: Good attitude. I'd find that really difficult.

Social Media Examples

  • Tweet: Working in customer service requires the patience of a saint and being seriously thick-skinned. #customerservice #retailproblems
  • Advice post: Aspiring writers: Be prepared for rejection and criticism. You need to be thick-skinned to make it. #writingcommunity #amwriting
  • Comment: He handles the media pressure really well. Gotta be thick-skinned in that job.

Response Patterns

  • Agreement: You certainly do., That's true.
  • Expressing admiration: That's a valuable trait., Wish I were more like that.
  • Commenting on necessity: It comes with the territory., You wouldn't last long otherwise.
  • Contrasting: Unlike me, I'm too sensitive!

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

After describing someone or a need as thick-skinned:

  • Discussion might involve specific examples of situations requiring this trait (e.g., dealing with online trolls, handling customer complaints).
  • People might admire or reflect on the person's emotional strength.
  • Contrasting with thin-skinned (easily offended) is common.

Conversation Starter

  • No. Describes a personality trait or a requirement for a situation.

Intonation

  • Often said with admiration for the person's resilience, or as a statement of fact about a necessary quality for a situation.
  • Stress falls on thick and skinned.
  • THICK-SKINNED.

Generation Differences

  • Widely understood and used across all generations.

Regional Variations

  • Common in all major English-speaking regions.
Penny-pincher
🎲 Off one's rocker