What does "The emporer has no clothes" mean?

[Squatch]

I never understood that idiom.

[Richardo]

1. Really?

Old fable by Hans Christian Andersen

http://www.deoxy.org/emperors.htm

[newscaster]

2. It is a story

of a king, so into himself, he could not see his own failings and his people, so eager to please him, refused to see those failings.

One day the King goes to the tailor to get new clothes and the tailor, who is not a fan of the King, convinces the king that he made him a wonderful "invisible" suit of clothing and that he looks wonderful in it. Townspeople, in their own blindness to truth, agree that the king looks like he just stepped out of GQ. But a little boy is the one who bursts the bubble by seeing the king on in skivvies and lets everyone know and the people come to their senses.

[Squatch]

4. Aha.

[skygazer]

3. It's from the story, The Emperor's New Clothes

The Emperor in the story was fooled by a guy who came to town and told him he'd make him the most beautiful suit of clothes ever. He had a loom on which he was supposedly weaving it and he'd point out all the glorious colors, etc. But there was nothing there. The Emperor didn't want to look like a fool, though, so he agreed and complimented the weaver's work and all his yes-men didn't want to look like fools next to the Emperor who obviously could see this so they agreed too.

And when the Emperor finally put on his new suit and paraded through the streets, no one else wanted to look like a fool since the Emperor and all his dudes could see the clothes so they all acted like they could see them too. Until a child called out, "But the Empereror has no clothes!" And then everyone realized that it was a scam.

[illflem]

5. It comes from Hans Christian Andersen: The Emperor’s New Suit

Where the emperor cares nothing about his kingdom except his own clothes. His tailor pretends to outfit him with a new suit that is actually nothing but all the yes men say what a beautiful suit it is even though the emperor is naked. Even though the emperor can't see the suit either he thinks it must be great just because the yes men say it is.

read the Anderson story here, it's only one page http://hca.gilead.org.il/emperor.html

"“But he has nothing on at all,” said a little child at last. “Good heavens! listen to the voice of an innocent child,” said the father, and one whispered to the other what the child had said. “But he has nothing on at all,” cried at last the whole people. That made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought to himself, “Now I must bear up to the end.” And the chamberlains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist."

[SHRED]

6. Here is another "Emperor wears no clothes" example

http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html

[Her Blondness]

7. What people mean when they make the reference

When people are referring to an "emperor with no clothes" scenario, they mean that other people are being suck-up toadies and are collectively denying the truth of the situation.

So it takes one person with the guts (or naivete) to speak the truth and blast through the BULLSHIT.

[illflem]

8. It also can mean

The leader is so arrogant and stuck on himself that when his cronies tell him he's doing good he carries on believing it even when he knows it isn't true.
And that the yes-men only say what the king wants to hear even though it's obviously untrue.

[RagingInMiami]

10. or in our case

BUSHIT

[patcox2]

9. You all left out an important fact.

The tailor told the king and everyone else that only intelligent and refined people could see the cloth, while it would be invisible to stupid, cloddish people.

When noone would point out that the king was naked, it wasn't so much toadying or sucking up to the king, as that they were afraid to show themselves as stupid and cloddish. It was their vanity that made them lie.