 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007What is Chestertonian?
I can't find the meaning of Chestertonian. Does anyone know what it means? Infact no one has posted anyone about this word in this NG. This is the sentense: "Proprietress is the typical Chestertonian female, a being devoid of logic but possessing a wisdom which goes beyond that of the mere male." pcutilisateur@gmail.com had it: > I can't find the meaning of Chestertonian. Does anyone know what it > means? Infact no one has posted anyone about this word in this NG. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > "Proprietress is the typical Chestertonian female, a being devoid of > logic but possessing a wisdom which goes beyond that of the mere male." GK Chesterton was a significant English novelist of the early 20th Century: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton  SignatureDavid ===== Nope. Gravity under Vista got worse. Back to XP. [snip] > GK Chesterton was a significant English novelist of the early 20th > Century: [snip]. There is a NYC men's apparel company called Chesterton Bespoke Suitmaker NY. Its webpage, at http://www.chesterton.us/suits.htm describes a "Chesterton suit." When I was in college, in the 50s, I was led to believe that a satin (velvet, silk?) collar on a wool jacket, coat, or suit made that item a "Chesterton." But, on Googling now, and reading at the above link, I'm beginning to think all that was BS, or else I'm remembering the wrong word for it. Can anyone clarify? Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego >[snip] >> GK Chesterton was a significant English novelist of the early 20th [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >now, and reading at the above link, I'm beginning to think all that was >BS, or else I'm remembering the wrong word for it. Can anyone clarify? That velvet collar thing was found on chesterfield coats: "The chesterfield is the most formal and classic town coat a gentleman can own. It was originally a variation of the basic Victorian frock coat, whose skirt descended straight to the bottom hem--in either a single- or a double-breasted version--but, unlike the frock, had no waist seam. It was named for the sixth Earl of Chesterfield (not the famous fourth earl, who wrote all those instructive letters to his bastard son), a leader of fashion among the Regency dandies who strolled Bond Street in the early years of the nineteenth century. He probably didn't invent the velvet collar--the coat's trademark. But he was certainly a great popularizer of the style, because when he died in 1866 his name had already become common coinage for the garment. By the turn of the twentieth century, the chesterfield had assumed the classic lines and details it retains today: a full-length (which at the moment means to the calf) usually single-breasted coat with fly-front closure on the single-breasted version, shaped body, velvet collar, center back vent, two side pockets and set-in sleeves. As the dressiest of town coats, it's usually tailored in dark blue, dark gray or black patternless wool or cashmere. Variations, though limited, include patterns of self-striped wool and herringbone tweed in brown, as well as gray and blue. The most popular variation these days is the chesterfield done in fawn (a marled greenish tan) covert or whipcord twill, with either a bottle green or dark chestnut brown velvet collar. The velvet collar cover--whose color is intended to quietly complement rather than contrast with the coat's color--is not only a bit of discreet adornment, but was, in an age when men wore their hair longer, a practical way of dealing with soiled collars: it's easier and cheaper to replace the velvet cover than to dispense with the entire collar." http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,509,00.html SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL > On 7 Jan 2007 17:11:25 -0800, "tinwhistler" [snip] > That velvet collar thing was found on chesterfield coats: [snip] Yup -- makes me worry about getting old, a bit. Thanks. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > pcutilisateur@gmail.com had it: >> I can't find the meaning of Chestertonian. Does anyone know what it >> means? Infact no one has posted anyone about this word in this NG. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> "Proprietress is the typical Chestertonian female, a being devoid of >> logic but possessing a wisdom which goes beyond that of the mere male." > GK Chesterton was a significant English novelist of the early 20th > Century: Not just a novelist, but also a philosopher and general opinionist. Much of his work came in the form of essays which were published in magazines and newspapers. Had he been born later he would undoubtedly have become a major newspaper columnist and probably a well-known TV personality (he did some early radio broadcast which were well received, and he had a strong (and rather contrived - to some extent invented by his wife) personal image). His earlier work is generally considered better than his later work, he did have a tendency to churn it out on demand, some have suggested he would have been better had he adopted a slower and more thought-out pace, others have said that it ws part of his essence that he produced his work in a hurry. He made a particular use of the idea of "paradox", in which an argument which was seemingly for one side was turned round and used for the other. He claimed to have been converted to orthodox Christianity and then to full Roman Catholicism by the arguments used against them. His novel also tend to involve paradox, most notably the twist at the centre of "The Man who was Thursday". He still has his devotees, though to my mind it's a great pity that his image has been captured by those who admire the more conservative strands in his philosophy and ignore much that was radical and anti-establishment. So "Chestertonian" as an adjective means "pertaining to the philosophy and writings of Mr G. K. Chesterton", and through his use of paradox it may mean "paradoxical", or a style of writing which like his is whimsical and involves paradox. As a noun, it may also mean "a devotee of G.K.Chesterton" or someone who follows his philosophy. His key philosophical book is general held to be "Orthodoxy" http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/orthodoxy/ with chapter 4: "The Ethics of Elfland" being the key chapter. Matthew Huntbach > He still has his devotees, though to my mind it's a great pity that > his image has been captured by those who admire the more > conservative strands in his philosophy and ignore much that was > radical and anti-establishment. Orthodoxy notwithstanding, he was a man of independent mind, and he looked & laughed at a great deal that is still worth looking & laughing at. Accordingly he can arrest & instruct even those (like me) who disagree with his premises. I particularly recommend his essays "On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family" (1906), "Humanity: An Interlude" (1908), "The Travellers in State" (1908), "The Fallacy of Success" (1909), and "Four Stupidities" (1920), and his poem "The Rolling English Road" (a brave try at reconciling Deity with disorder). Signature--- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net ||: Why didn't Dirac :|| ||: Call it a brac? :|| In our last episode, <1168162135.678207.119670@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>, the lovely and talented pcutilisateur@gmail.com broadcast on alt.usage.english: > I can't find the meaning of Chestertonian. Does anyone know what it > means? Infact no one has posted anyone about this word in this NG. > This is the sentense: > "Proprietress is the typical Chestertonian female, a being devoid of > logic but possessing a wisdom which goes beyond that of the mere male." In the first place, the context tells you exactly what the writer means by this. You should recognize "-(i)an" as a productive suffix meaning "of or belonging to" (among other things). Therefore, a "Chestertonian female" must be a female of or belonging to Chesterton. Chesterton is a place name or a surname derived of a place name. There, then, are several plausible theories. "Chestertonian female" might mean: 1) a girl or woman from a place called Chesterton, 2) a girl or woman associated with a family named Chesterton, or 3) a girl or woman somehow "belonging to" a person named Chesterton. By entering "Chesterton" in Google, you should see that the most frequent mentions of "Chesterton" refer to the 20th century British writer G(ilbert) K(eith) Chesterton. So the most probably meaning of "Chestertonian female" is "female character in the works of G.K. Chesterton." Then, of course, you could survey the works of G.K. Chesterton, many of which are available online from Project Gutenberg. Or you can take the writer's word for what he means by it: devoid of logic but etc. SignatureLars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> <http://myspace.com/larseighner> Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. > I can't find the meaning of Chestertonian. Does anyone know what it > means? Infact no one has posted anyone about this word in this NG. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > "Proprietress is the typical Chestertonian female, a being devoid of > logic but possessing a wisdom which goes beyond that of the mere male." That is not how to spell "sentence". The sentence you gave appears to be lacking an article at the beginning. Is "Proprietress" the name of the female being who is typically Chestertonian? The British author GK Chesterton (1874 - 1936) had (some say) interesting views on a wide variety of topics, including that of women, which may be summed up by the second clause of the sentence you gave. The capital letter at the beginning of Chestertonian should have given you a clue. If some view or style is typical of an author, it may often be described by an adjective made from the author's name. In fact such adjectives are often found. For example, Dickensian (Charles Dickens) Rabelaisian (Fran?ois Rabelais) Shakespearian (William Shakespeare). Some more quotes by Chesterton:- : "A good man's work is effected by doing what he does, a woman's by being what she is" "Women are the only realists; their whole object in life is to pit their realism against the extravagant, excessive, and occasionally drunken idealism of men." >The British author GK Chesterton (1874 - 1936) had (some say) >interesting views on a wide variety of topics, including that of women, >which may be summed up by the second clause of the sentence you gave. G.K.'s Weekly Sampler is worth looking at, samples from his magazine from 1925 to 1935. irwell wrote, in <jnd3q21ia4rhp8i869d68heb3kgf6skcij@4ax.com> on Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:17:03 -0800: > >The British author GK Chesterton (1874 - 1936) had (some say) > >interesting views on a wide variety of topics, including that of women, > >which may be summed up by the second clause of the sentence you gave. > > > G.K.'s Weekly Sampler is worth looking at, samples from > his magazine from 1925 to 1935. One of his that I like: "The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly, the rich have always objected to being governed at all." SignatureNick Spalding |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.