failson
noun
| FAIL-sun
a mediocre adult son of a prominent family
What does failson mean?
Failson refers to an adult son of a wealthy and/or famous family who, despite being mediocre and lacking any real talent or determination, succeeds in life (or at least floats by). His success comes primarily because of family money and connections.
Examples of failson
… the reckless and impetuous failson of an electrical dynasty ...
—Peter Hughes, AutoWeek, 16 July 2018
… a rotating crop of affluent failsons were pulling down exorbitant salaries and burning significant piles of cash on ridiculous ideas, wasteful brand parties, and quarterly strategic pivots that rarely made sense.
—Who are the great failsons of cinema? Fredo Corleone tops the list obviously but who else
—Talentless Billionaire Nepo Baby Failson Remains Safely Employed By The Company His Daddy Bought For Him
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Where does failson come from?
The coining of failson is sometimes attributed to Will Menaker of the podcast Chapo Trap House, who was described as using the word in a November 2016 New Yorker article in reference to who he considered the average Chapo Trap House fan. While this podcast may have brought failson to prominence, the word had already appeared elsewhere in print earlier that year.
How is failson used?
Although failson is most often applied specifically to wealthy individuals (and shares some semantic overlap with nepo baby), it is sometimes used more broadly for disappointing adult sons from any family, regardless of economic class. It is nearly always used as an insult, but occasionally the broader sense is self-applied.
… resentful failsons sweating from video games and chicken fingers …
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Faildaughter and failchild are significantly rarer at the moment, but used in similar ways.
my cousin is the bigger failchild though. … he made a bunch of money once via a scam and now he just smokes weed all day …
—I am a fail daughter and the favourite. In fact, being the favourite may have made me the fail daughter.
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