SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 18 submissions in the queue.
SoylentNews
Archaic words are making a comeback, thanks to hipsters' love of all things old. The Washington Post's wonkblog has an article examining how hipsters may be bringing back vintage language, and the effects it is having on modern culture. This may be a passing fad, as hipsters themselves are now making jokes about bespoke water; if they're not careful the charming anachronism may go mainstream and become unfit for hipster irony.
BTW, this submission was inspired by a comment thread here about craft/artisanal beers. Apparently, the old words are not just re-entering the hipsters' language but getting co-opted by marketers hoping to woo the hipster pocketbook. Some linguistic shift may result.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
How Hipsters May be Bringing Back Vintage Language
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 50 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
The last time I saw him he was walking down Lover's Lane holding his own hand.
-- Fred Allen
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Friday October 30 2015, @05:50PM
Bespoke : The word is odd - perhaps it originated that something is made to a spoken order.
In the link to "bespoke water" (I realise it's a spoof) the word "bespoke" is misused. It does not mean "superior"; it means made to a customer's order. Obvious example, as in your dictionary link, is clothing, particularly men's suits. A bespoke suit is one that you are measured for and you wait for it to be made. It is a practical matter, especially if you are a funny shape. You could say "made to order", but that is two extra syllables.
But there are other examples. I used to do cycle racing (Tour de France style) and most of us had bespoke bike frames - made to order by a myriad of small builders that had nothing to do with the mass-market makers like Raleigh (but Raleigh would have a small workshop making bespoke bikes for its own professional team. I had two bikes made this way and I gave the builders what was almost an engineering drawing of what I wanted.
Another example is English shotguns - Purdy of London make bespoke guns to fit your arm length and accomodate any other peculiarities you might have, like being right handed but with a blind right eye.
The word is not there for snobbishness; it has a practical meaning and use.