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I see "bespoke" used in American English more and more. Originally it meant what we US of A denizens call "custom made," or made for a particular person, particularly with regards to tailor-made clothing. Have the Mastodon Avenue types mangled its meaning to mean snob-appealing Junk?
 
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Picture of BobHale
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It means custom made to me.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
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Picture of bethree5
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I found myself using the word recently in describing a scene featuring a tailor of custom-made men's clothing in a book I'm reading. It may be creeping into US parlance via ads. It's eye-catching, & sounds modern or at least quaint. "Custom-made" or "tailor-made" sounds like an ad from a 1950's newspaper.

I had to look up the etymology, had no clue. "Bespoken" is ca 1600 English [from "bespeak]," meaning spoken for, arranged in advance.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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Interesting. I have only seen it used to describe the archaic use of "to speak." I'll have to look out for it in ads.
 
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