"A lot of people still laugh when people mention "Heightism" as if it's not a real form of discrimination, but they don't understand how incredibly ingrained it is into culture. Really. It's everywhere. Just take language:
When you admire someone, you "look up to them". You don't ask people "What is your height?" you ask them: "How tall are you?". If a man is made less important he's "cut down to size". You're "standing tall" when you're proud. You're "head and shoulders above the rest" when you've done something exceptional. We have "shortcomings", and we're afraid that we "don't measure up".
Heightism is extremely pronounced, but it's not something people really notice unless they are on the receiving end. I'm 5'11", so I'm about regular height for a male. But growing up, I was extremely short compared to all my peers. When I finally had my growth-spurt, I noticed immediately how much more people respected me - it was like night and day." - Source
My favorite is "I'm [insert height] on a good day." That one is less figurative and there's no arguing over the intent. It'd be like me saying my skin is lighter on a good day. When you're a great successor, you're "standing on the shoulders of giants." A stupid person is a mental midget, an intelligent one a towering intellect. Or how about "a man of his stature"? What stature? Short stature? I doubt it.
The only phrases about tallness would be "tall tale" and "tall order." The first is because extreme tallness is larger than life and unbelievable, like how Andre the Giant was nicknamed The Eighth Wonder of the World. "Tall order" is because being tasked to climb a tall mountain or wall seems insurmountable. Not too shabby.
More on this topic here:
"Tall is one of those curious words, like nice, that has had more meanings down the centuries than you can shake a stick at. Back in Anglo-Saxon times it meant swift or prompt, and later on it variously had senses of fine, handsome, bold, strong, brave, skilful and a good fighter. It was only in the sixteenth century that it started to mean somebody or something physically higher than normal."
