For centuries, the word "philistine" has even been shorthand for people who are uncouth and uncultured, as in, "The school board members who want to cut funding for art and music programs are a bunch of philistines." The term was first coined by a 17th-century German university chaplain who defended a brawl between his ...

What does calling someone a philistine mean?

a : a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values. b : one uninformed in a special area of knowledge. Philistine. adjective.

Why do people say you philistine?

If you call someone a philistine, you mean that they do not care about or understand good art, music, or literature, and do not think that they are important. You can use philistine to describe people or organizations who you think do not care about or understand the value of good art, music, or literature.