To
walk and/or
act in an openly
casual and self-confident (or self-IMPORTANT!) manner, causing irritation and/or resentment in others from your
pert attitude; especially when:
(A) your arrival was unannounced/unexpected, and so those present were not prepared to conveniently receive or assist you, or
(
B) you lack or did not bestir yourself to obtain the usually-expected experience, paperwork, preparations, credential-references, etc. for your requests to be reasonably fulfilled. or
(C) you have behaved/performed poorly in the past regarding matters similar to what you presently have in
mind, and so your would-be providers are none too confident or eager to fulfill your requests.
Bank loan officer (crossly), "You know, you've got SOME NERVE waltzing in here asking for a loan --- three years ago we loaned you a million dollars to look for
oil, and you didn't find a
drop!"
Oil prospector (casually): "Could have been worse."
Bank loan officer (raising his eyebrows in annoyance): "And then two years ago we loaned you three million dollars to drill for
oil, and you came up with nuthin' but dry holes that time, too!"
Oil prospector (shrugging): "Could have been worse."
Bank loan officer (giving a snort under his breath and beginning to twitch angrily): "And then last year we loaned you TEN million dollars to do more prospecting, and you STILL couldn't find any
oil!"
Oil prospector (still as sunny and flippant as ever): "Could have been worse."
Bank loan officer (finally blowing his stack): "Why do you keep saying 'it could have been worse'?! We've
lost nearly FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS through you!"
Oil prospector (smugly): "Could have been my money."