Tall poppy syndrome

In Australia and New Zealand, tall poppy syndrome refers to successful people being criticised. This occurs when their peers believe they are too successful, or are bragging about their success. Intense scrutiny and criticism of such a person is termed as "cutting down the tall poppy".

Australia and New Zealand
In Australia and New Zealand, "cutting down the tall poppy" is sometimes used by business entrepreneurs to describe those who deliberately criticise other people for their success and achievements. It has been described as being the by-product of the Australian and New Zealand cultural value of egalitarianism.

Related phenomena
In Japan, a similar common expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down". In the Netherlands, this expression is "don't put your head above ground level" (boven het maaiveld uitsteken), with the cultural phenomenon being named maaiveldcultuur.

In Chile, this expression is known as chaquetear ('pull the jacket'). In Scandinavia, this expression is known as the Law of Jante. The Law of Jante originates from a 1933 novel by Aksel Sandemose. It contains rules and stipulations such as "you're not to think you are anything special" and "perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?".

Schadenfreude is often experienced by the cutter after cutting someone down in the Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS). TPS is uncommonly recognized in the US and schadenfreude as a consequence of TPS is even less recognized.