handcrafted

Tue Dec 28 00:01:23 UTC 2010

I don’t see how “handcrafted” can literally mean anything other than ‘crafted by hand’. Of course, language changes and words take on expanded meanings, e.g., by way of figurative extension, but dictionaries have no obligation to list every figurative extension--and in any case, “handcrafted” is not particularly figurative, given the vagueness of the VERB “crafted” (NOAD: ‘ v. [trans.] exercise skill in making (something'). Thus “handcrafted tea/perfume/etc." aren't really even extensions.

Nor is this really just a recent phenomenon in ads. Has anybody actually bothered to look at old ads, or is this just more Chicken Little lexicography? See, for example, the following from 1952 (a year selected at random); surely not all of these meant 'made by hand' to Eisenhower-era Americans:

1.

KUPPENHEIMER Handcrafted Worsted SuitIt takes the best of skilled tailoring plus the finest of custom woolem to make a suit that will maintain its smart appearance, and yours, too. through senson after season of satisfactory wear. And that's just what you get when you choose a Kuppenheimer. The fabrics are tempered and tested to hold their press . . . the fit is flawless from the natural set of the shoulders to the free-stride taper of the trbusen . . . the pleasure of wearing a Kuppenheimer starts from the moment you slip it on for the first time. (Charleston Daily Mail, 12-7-1952, p11)

2.

THE K-310, designed and engineered by Chrysler and handcrafted by Ghia of Turin Italy. Only 59" high, with a wheelbase of 125%", it is designed to use the Chrysler FirePower V8 Engine and full-time Power Steering. This "idea car" represents an entirely new American theme in motor car functional styling.

Sunday, October 26, 1952
City: San Antonio Light
State: Texas

3.

Imperial Candlewick . . . graceful, lovely table crystal ... hand-crafted to accept the good in good living . . . styled with a simplicity that spells "Welcome!" on any occasion. Offered in open-stock so that you can buy the pieces you need and add to your service as your budget permits. Date: Monday, November 24, 1952
City: Hagerstown
State: Maryland  

4.

AN ELGIN AMERICAN COM PACT will make a superb gift for Christmas. Handcrafted patterns in silver or jeweler's bronze. We Gift Wrap Free of Charge. LUNDBORG JEWELRY Date: Tuesday, December 09, 1952
City: Brainerd
State: Minnesota Daily Dispatch 

On Dec 27, 2010, at 1:34 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> A word's meaning is what one is fully justified in believing when the word
> is encountered.  In many cases all that is "fully justified" may  not be
> entirely clear. In the case of adspeak "handcrafted," however, there is no
> justification for the reader or hearer to assume that the product is made by
> the direct action of the hands of actual craftspeople. Like "natural," and
> some other terms, "handcrafted" in current use is routinely used more for
> its favorable connotations than for its informativeness.
> 
> I'd say that - at most - the recent usage conveys a concern that the product
> be regarded as of high quality and careful manufacture.
> 
> JL
> 
> On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 10:48 AM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: handcrafted
>> 
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Over the last five years, one sees "handcrafted" used to promote items
>> like fragrances, soaps, and teas. I don't think Jonathan exaggerated
>> the meaning of word in these contexts.
>> 
>> DanG
>> 
>> On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 12:27 PM,  <ronbutters at aol.com> wrote:
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       ronbutters at AOL.COM
>>> Subject:      Re: handcrafted
>>> 
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> 
>>> JL surely exaggerates re: what "handcrafted" means nowadays. Can't one
>> just conclude that the ad he cites is misleading, given that "handcrafted"
>> has to analyze as "crafted by hand" (as dictionaries suggest)?
>>> ------Original Message------
>>> From: Jonathan Lighter
>>> Sender: ADS-L
>>> To: ADS-L
>>> ReplyTo: ADS-L
>>> Subject: [ADS-L] handcrafted
>>> Sent: Dec 27, 2010 11:58 AM
>>> 
>>> OED ignores "handcrafted" in the mesmeric commercial sense of "carefully
>>> made or prepared according to industrial standards."  Celestial
>> Seasonings,
>>> e.g., claims that its tea blends are "handcrafted."
>>> 
>>> I suppose in the case of CS, it could mean that somewhere, at some time,
>> a
>>> "blendmaster" (sic) mixed a little of this and a little of that by hand
>> till
>>> he liked the taste.  Cool.  However, the usual connotation of
>> "handcrafted"
>>> is that the very product you're holding was made by hand or with the
>>> personal attention of a living human to every detail.  Nowadays this is
>>> rarely the case.
>>> 
>>> By "nowadays," I mean since the introduction of "handcrafted" to describe
>>> otherwise routinely manufactured items.
>>> 
>>> JL
>>> 
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org