Another Britspeak - After a Fashion

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Katherine Coble <k.coble at c...>
wrote:
> 
> On Jul 22, 2005, at 7:10 AM, Sue Wartell wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> >> Valky wrote:
> >>
> >> HI all,
> >>
> >> On the main list, someone asked for an explanation
> >> of "after a fashion".
> >>
> >>

> >
> > Now Sue:
> >
> > an equivalent phrase would be "in a way" - a
> > technically true but incomplete description of
> > something.
> >
> 
> ...
> 
> I've always considered it to be the equivalent of saying "in a
> manner of speaking".
> 
> The phrase itself has been around since the sixteenth century but
> seems to have acquired its renaissance in the 19th century w...
> 
> Katherine the word geek

bboyminn:

I think Katherine has nailed it. In a sense, 'after a fashion' is the
say as 'in a manner of speaking'; it is a phrased used to imply that a
statement is true within a limited context. For example, -

Q: Are you a rich man?

A: I am, after a fashion.

A: I am, in a manner of speaking.

A: I am, within a limited context.

A: I am, by the way I personally measure wealth.

These all imply a limited context. The reference to 'fashion' my be an
indirect reference to, generally speaking, popular trends. But like
many trends, bell-bottom pants only existed within a limited time
frame and social culture. So, again, the speaker who uses the phase
'after a fashion' is limitly putting non-specific limited on his answer.

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn