#FLEXING IN A SMEDIUM SHIRT MEME HOW TO#

In the absence of professional advice of how to bridge the shmedium gap, I turned to the logical alternative: Reddit, specifically r/MaleFashionAdvice. (Also important to note: “Shmedium” as colloquially used, does NOT refer to a size between small and medium.) This sentence in particular demonstrates the inconsistency in the Rice University definition: “Take off that shmedium man, we know you aren’t that big” - as if being larger would justify a smaller shirt.Ĭould then the entire shmedium conundrum be avoided by going up a size? This unfortunately presents a new, but related problem: Often, you’ll look like a child swimming in their clothes, which ultimately gives off an unwanted youthfulness. Though the initial definition is relatively accurate (a shirt too small for the wearer), the overall sentiment is wrong. Meanwhile, a tee too large makes us look as though we’re halfway through a Benjamin Button-esque reverse-aging shrink.įor its featured definition of “shmedium,” Google prominently displays a 2013 entry in the Rice University Neologisms Database, compiled by 200-level English and linguistics students: Namely: A tee too small may appear to be a vainglorious attempt to prominently display our gym-enhanced arms and chest.

But as my short, athletically built compadres can confirm, we undertake an exhausting mental calculus when selecting a T-shirt.

A basic item of clothing shouldn’t induce an identity crisis.

Flexing in a smedium shirt meme