Distinguished Gentleman

What does it mean when someone says you look "very distinguished"? Take this recent photo of a man 

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who will remain nameless.  A friend wrote him that he looked like a "distinguished banker." Now is that different from an ordinary banker? I looked up the word and it means "marked, different" and was further defined as "Separated from others by distinct difference."

 

 

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Now how is this man different from this man? The second man is more casually dressed, is perhaps thinner, looks less stern. Yet he is the same man, isn't he? Is distinguished just a superficial observation? Do people mean he looks older, has gravitas, is tight-fisted with his money?

 

 

 

 

 

 

And what about this man? He looks robust, well-fed, smiling? 

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Isn't he distinguished? But it's the same man, isn't it? Life is strange. So are people. But I guess it's better to say distinguished than fat. Yes, I guess he does look distinguished. Very distinguished.

May 23, 2011