A nice question on Stack Overflow today drew good answers, but one of them chided,

Stop saying “pythonic” when you mean “clean”. It’s just a cheesy buzzword.

It made me think about what people mean by “pythonic,” I think it is more than simply “clean.” I think it also involves appropriate use of the language and standard library features. It of course includes “clean” but I think you can write clean Java-like code in Python, and it will not be pythonic. The pythonic label has to do with a minimalism, getting more done than seems possible with a small amount of code.

But I also wonder, why does Python have an adjective, when other languages do not? We don’t hear about code being Javanese, or Pearly, or Rubinesque. Why don’t we speak of code that is C-plush-plush, or PHPleasing? Why does Python have an adjective?

PS: any other interesting proposals for language adjectives?