artist

Hello,

Have you ever heard the word artist used to mean "someone pretentious"?

I looked it up in dictionaries but couldn't find a meaning like that.
The reason that I am asking is that I have heard it used in that way from some non-native speakers. And, in Turkish, we use it in this way, too.

Many thanks

No, I haven't heard artist used like that - outside the arts, the slang use of "xyz-artist" is usually humorous, dismissive or derogatory.

piss-artist = a drunk
pick-up artist = a male skilled in attracting women.

It indicates someone who has dedicated themselves to a somewhat unworthy practice.

It is possible in English to pronounce artist as "ar-teest" which adds the irony and pretentiousness to it.

A: "I saw Amanda Goodbody last night."
B: "Who, Amanda Goodbody?! She's a true "ar-teest" with her vacuous opinions, mincing ways and fake tears."

The most common derogatory use of "artist" in AE is probably "bull-shit artist," a term often applied to politicians and other con-men, meaning something like: "someone who is skilled at bending the truth to his own desires." The term is somewhat rude.

The adjective "artsy," or the compound "artsy-fartsy," can be used with this meaning. I don't think "artist" can, though.

In AE "artiste" is used in exactly that way. It is defined as such in the "Urban Dictionary". I'll try to get a link.

Here it is: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=artiste