Paula from Palm City, Florida, wants to know: What's so cute about buttons, anyway? Like the expressions cute as a bug and cute as a bug's ear, this one seems to derive from cute meaning delicate and small. She raises another interesting question: Are the descriptors beautiful and attractive preferable to cute and adorable after a certain age? We want to hear your thoughts! This is part of a complete episode.
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My wife to either child: "You're cute as a button."
Child's reply: "Are buttons cute?"
Wife: "They are when they look like you."
Child rolls eyes.
Paula indicated that she thought "Cute as a button" should not be applied to anyone past teenage. I think it only applies to toddlers and babies. At least that's the way my father used it, and he wasn't much for sayings. As the previous poster implies, it shouldn't be applied to anyone old enough to be sarcastic.
Helen Mirren may not be cute as a button, but Celia Imrie is.