handcrafted
Joel S. Berson
Berson at ATT.NET
Tue Dec 28 18:13:36 UTC 2010
If a carpenter uses power tools for his creation,
is what he produces not handcrafted?
Might not some of the products from China (in
another message) have been handcrafted, including
an acrylic rug woven on a hand loom?
Joel
At 12/27/2010 08:02 PM, James Smith wrote:
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
>
>Unless you mean "handcrafted" denotes made
>without tools, I have no trouble accepting that
>the 4 items listed could have, in fact, been
>handcrafted in 1952. It may not have actually
>been so, but it is not beyond credible
>belief. Even today, a cheap man's suit is still
>largely handcrafted. Sure Ghia would have used
>stamps and presses to shape the carrozzeria, but
>producing a finish worthy of the Ghia name would
>have involved a lot of hand work, a lot of
>crafting by hand. Same with the crystal and watch.
>
>James D. SMITH |If history teaches anything
>South SLC, UT |it is that we will be sued
>jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com |whether we act quickly and
> decisively
> |or slowly and cautiously.
>
>
>--- On Mon, 12/27/10, Ronald Butters <ronbutters at AOL.COM> wrote:
>
> > From: Ronald Butters <ronbutters at AOL.COM>
> > Subject: handcrafted
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Date: Monday, December 27, 2010, 5:01 PM
> > 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: MarylandÂ
> >
> >
> >
> > 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: Â
> > 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
> >
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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