that guy

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈðæt ˈɡaɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

that guy (plural those guys)

1. (often derogatory, informal, chiefly in the negative) The stereotypical badly-behaved or stupid person. Often in the phrases "Don't be that guy" or "I don't want to be that guy."
   • 2001, January 23, Bob McGinn, “Different strokes”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, page 3C:

     “Nobody wants to be that guy that’s on SportsCenter that’s arrested,” Giants defensive tackle Keith Hamilton said. “I definitely don’t want to be that guy.”

   • 2008, June 24, Mark LaFlamme, “Superhero Stuff”, Sun Journal, page B1:

     Rebekah groaned, covered her eyes with an arm and said: “Aw, I don’t want to be that guy.”

   • 2014, Wan Stephanie Aishah, The V‎, page 20:

     Thankfully though in Canada, an advertising campaign called “Don’t be that guy” has been making rounds across the net. In this campaign, the words are used as such:

     JUST BECAUSE SHE’S DRINKING,
     DOESN’T MEAN SHE WANTS SEX.
     Sex without consent = sexual assault
     DON’T BE THAT GUY.

   • 2023 June 14, Keza MacDonald, “After a decade of PlayStation dominance, the next year of games belongs to Xbox”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 June 2023:

     I’m playing it in French, because I’m that guy, though it’s a shame the voice-acting is only in American English.

Derived terms

• don't be that guy