Am I, are you, a victim of CAWS?

[Ivebeeninlockdowntoolong]

I'll explain what CAWS is:

C = Celebrity
A = Achievement or attainments
W = Wealth
S = Status

Is it my imagination or are a lot of us impressed by CAWS? By this I mean when someone is talking about a third party I have never met, they need to quality this person, eg here are examples of real conversational gambits I've experienced:

"I've just joined X town golf course. Mr local celebrity plays golf there".
"My friend Diana came with me. She's got a PhD in behavioural sciences and went to Oxford".
" My daughter's friends with Sonia Smith. Her parents are absolutely minted and live in a house with 8 ensuite bedrooms".
"My friend, the town mayor ...."

I don't think I do this when mentioning third parties but why do people do it? Is it because they have low self-esteem and like to infer they hob-nob with CAWS people? I think it's rather sad.

Instead t would be great though to hear something like:

"My friend Diana, she's one of the kindest and most generous people I know"
Or " My friend Fiona, I can always rely on her for a wisdom insight ..."

I actually automatically add a positive about someone's personality when I talk about them. To me it explains something about that person in relation to why they were helpful etc.

I'm not sure the CAWS criteria does the same but it could do in some ways - eg if talking about friend helping you with some anxiety issues mentioning they have a PHD in psychiatry would be relevant. Having 8 en-suite bedrooms - not so much

I wouldn't knock it if their CAWS / qualification was somehow directly relevant though! But it never is (in my experience).

Impressed or just mildly interested in a neutral way?

I saw Eddie Izzard being interviewed on TV outside the Morrisons near my work not so long ago. I think I'd mention that in conversation over the next day or two, just for something to say, as much as anything.

@BarbaraofSeville

Impressed or just mildly interested in a neutral way?

I saw Eddie Izzard being interviewed on TV outside the Morrisons near my work not so long ago. I think I'd mention that in conversation over the next day or two, just for something to say, as much as anything.

Sounds like your tale would be mildly interesting in a neutral way. After all you're not making out like he's your mate here, are you? Someone I know may have put it like this:

My friend: "I saw Eddie outside Morrisons being interviewed today".
Me. "Who is Eddie? Is he a friend of yours?"
My friend. " You know, Eddie Izzard! My son was at the same school as him and Eddie seemed like a really nice kid".

Bumping up. I can't believe this thread has had so little response!