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Brusque

notyouraveragematteo

Senior Member
English, Japanese
How would one interpret the word, Brusque?

If a policeman is brusque, is he rude?
Yes, "abrupt" is a good definition.

When I asked the policeman to direct me to the museum, he was quite brusque and just pointed up the road, with a grunt.

When I phoned him he was rather brusque, as if he didn't have the time or the inclination to talk to me. I wish he would be more polite.
I would disagree with the idea that being brusque is necessarily being impolite; if the policeman is brusque because at the time you are asking him for directions he is already trying to extract a motorist from a crashed and burning car, I think any brusqueness is entirely justified.
Granted, but from the other person's point of view, "brusqueness" will almost certainly be perceived in a negative way, certainly initially.
Being brusque is often mistaken for being impolite.

If you were driving home and got in an huge amount of traffic and you are desperate to get to the bathroom and your neighbor wanted to chat with you at that most inconvenient moment, then you might be very brusque, but not necessarily impolite.
What do you think about "brusque" compared with curt and terse? Does it lie somewhere between them in negativity?

Most posters in this thread. think that "terse" doesn't carry the impatient, annoying connotations "curt" does. I was wondering if brusque can be used the same way curt is used in this example:

A: Sir, Can you tell me how to get to A building
B: Up, second left, down, second right. Bye.
A: Come on, I'm new around here. Please give me clearer directions.
B: Alright, sorry for being curt. I'll lead you down there.

Do you think curt can be replaced with brusque in this case?
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