culture vulture

noun

, Slang.

a person with an excessive or pretentious interest in the arts.

culture vulture

noun

informal.
a person considered to be excessively, and often pretentiously, interested in the arts

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Word History and Origins

Origin of culture vulture¹

First recorded in 1945–50

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Idioms and Phrases

An individual with a consuming or excessive interest in the arts. For example, A relentless culture vulture, she dragged her children to every museum in town . This slangy term may have been originated by Ogden Nash, who wrote: “There is a vulture Who circles above The carcass of culture” ( Free Wheeling , 1931). [1940s]

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Example Sentences

This entails being more the culture vulture, exposing yourself to unique influences.

From The Daily Beast

This makes you quite the culture vulture, wanting to expose yourself to artistic, culinary and socially fringed experiences.

From The Daily Beast

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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