Oh dear. I found the term quite amusing :-) I was looking back through some photos of my college days a little while back, and noted that almost *everyone* had mullets. They were just fashionable then. They were also a bit silly - not brave enough to grow the hair all over, but still enough hassle to get the top-bit cut. I never saw the point myself, but I certainly remember giving my boyfriend of the time a mullet-trim :-) Having lived with it through it's heyday, I wouldn't find it anymore of a perjorative term than ... "rat-tail" (I had one of those - short all over, thin little padawan braid at the back) or "poodle-perm". They were all named haircuts of the day which brand us back to those times, as there is generally only a short time when anyone is vain enough to care about getting their hair cut in "the latest style" as opposed to "whatever suits you".

I would personally have knocked on the person's door and asked if they'd mind turning it down. But I've had to learn to be considerate - I play bagpipes :-)