Sinister: twee the clock around

[laurel lemming]

...and I meant to add, to jump into the fray here,
that on July 31 I received this email with the subject
"twee: Word of the Day":

>The Word of the Day for Aug 01 is:

>twee \TWEE\ adjective

>chiefly British : affectedly or excessively dainty,
>delicate, cute, or quaint

>Example sentence:
>Thatched-roof birdhouses with posies in the windows
>are a bit too twee for Annalese, who doesn't go in
>much for cutesiness.

>Did you know?
>Most adults wouldn't be caught dead saying, "Oh, look
>at the tweet 'ittle birdie!" (at least not to anyone
>over the age of three), but they probably wouldn't be
>averse to saying, "He went fishing with his dad,"
"She >works as a nanny," or "Hey, buddy, how's it
going?" >Anyone who uses "dad," "nanny," or "buddy"
owes a debt >to "baby talk," a term used for both the
childish >speech adults adopt when addressing
youngsters and for >the speech of small children who
are just learning to >talk. "Twee" also originated in
baby talk, as an >alteration of "sweet." In the early
1900s, it was a >term of affection, but nowadays
British speakers and >writers, and, increasingly,
Americans as well, use >"twee" for things that have
passed beyond agreeable >and into the realm of
cloying.

>*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example
>sentence."

what I find interesting about this commentary on the
word--apart from finding it in my inbox instead of in
my Sinister folder--is that it even mentions
Americans' use of the word. in my experience, fewer
Americans know "twee" than they do most other
British-isms.

I think, like any other description, "twee" can be
used in a critical and negative way, as in the last
part of that definition. however, I think it can be
used with affection--though not affected affection or
cloying affection, I suppose. just a touch of
twee-ness might be good for everyone. wouldn't want to
have too much twee, you might find it hard to stand
up.

laurel "going to bed now" lemming

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