handcrafted

[Jonathan Lighter]

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
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> 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
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> > 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."
> >
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> >
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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