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HelpRe: Patterns and Vibes Recommendations Please
in reply to a message by Dianatiger
Oh gosh, this kind of overthinking is such a vice for me. *tucking napkin into collar, wielding knife and fork*
I take some personal responsibility for the weirder ratings categories on this site. Alas, I talked a lot, and Mike listened to me. I have some regrets.
I think a lot of the name impressions that I can put into a contrast like you're doing - can be reduced to 3 basic axes:
Age (either in the sense of youth/maturity, or old-fashion/new-fashion - ultimately connotes the same thing);
conventional-ness / familiarity (degrees of either/both "classic" and "popular");
and low/high status. (Not to be classist, but let's be honest, humans are sensitive to status and it's part of what we care about perceiving in names. Status isn't character.)
And another axis would be positive/negative, a subjective quality - a reflection of my own attitude, how much I like it and why.
The "spin" I put on it, that makes me choose positive or negative, "judging" terms.
I like to see if I can zero out my idiosyncratic taste, which sometimes changes - by setting up any contrasts as equally appealing.
For example, I like some names that are elegant, and some names that aren't elegant. So I could contrast "elegant" with a positive term that describes what impression I would say I like, about a name that I think isn't "elegant." A word like "natural" might work. Or "friendly."
I could set up contrasts between negatives, or between positives...
Or, I could set them up to describe impressions I like vs dislike.
(age words)
bratty / fusty
energetic / sophisticated
juvenile / polished
sweet / stodgy
(familiarity)
gimmicky / boring
striking / timeless
flimsy / perennial
stale / stylish
(status)
garish / prissy
rustic / august
hokey / elegant
amiable / stuck-up
A nerd's journey through the thesaurus - You're welcome lol
Negative age terms:
youthful - juvenile, faddish, babyish, weak, puppyish, childish, naive, emotional, frivolous, giddy, shallow, airheaded, sassy, bratty, callow, dizzy, gawky
mature - stodgy, stiff, heavy, stern, somber, antiquated, dowdy, uptight, dated, dowdy, musty, fusty, archaic, baggy, bombastic, heavy, difficult, dark, matronly, difficult, humorless, unstylish, ugly
Positive age terms:
youthful - fresh, light, soft, sunny, pretty, melodic, versatile, cheerful, sweet, youthful, vigorous, dynamic, chipper, energetic, inspiring, spirited, vivacious, charming, bright, pleasant, winsome, athletic, robust, open, expansive
mature - strong, grounded, polished, sophisticated, intelligent, dependable, alluring, intriguing, canny, sonorous, heroic, cosmopolitan, confident, comforting, vintage, retro, nostalgic, gothic, subtle, intriguing, arch, accomplished
Negative familiarity terms:
novel - peculiar, strange, weird, trendy, gimmicky, faddish, flimsy, bizarre, synthetic, artificial, pretentious, brand-namey, attention-seeking, macabre, controversial, risque, difficult, eccentric, flaky, awkward, jarring, overwrought
familiar - boring, overused, stale, shopworn, trite, basic, unimaginative, common, conformist, bland, dull, ordinary, mundane, plain, white-bread
Positive familiarity terms:
novel - modern, striking, fresh, creative, charismatic, unique, rare, inspiring, stylish, original, daring, dashing, intrepid, bold, chic, distinctive, exotic
familiar - classic, traditional, established, reliable, timeless, popular, neutral, easy, safe, normal, tidy, put-together, respectable, friendly, warm, straightforward, historic, perennial
Negative status terms:
folksy - tacky, hokey, corny, comical, sentimental, gauche, frumpy, provincial, glitzy, gaudy, garish, sloppy, quaint, common, cheap, vulgar, sleazy, trashy, mediocre, brassy, illiterate
noble - stuck-up, stuffy, ostentatious, grandiose, fancy, prissy, pompous, overbearing, cold, pretentious, aloof, fussy, dry, stilted, posh
Positive status terms:
folksy - natural, rustic, outdoorsy, approachable, modest, casual, quirky, whimsical, humble, grounded, amiable, jovial, spunky, plucky, doughty, romantic, pastoral, passionate, enthusiastic, hearty, lively, audacious, pert, virile, sexy, stormy, hip, devil-may-care, nonchalant, fierce, earthy
noble - elegant, gracious, formal, substantial, refined, genteel, classical, regal, heroic, esteemed, harmonious, golden, august, distinguished, stately, generous, sublime, beautiful, sparkling, regency, valiant, gallant, ethereal, literate, urbane
- mirfak
I take some personal responsibility for the weirder ratings categories on this site. Alas, I talked a lot, and Mike listened to me. I have some regrets.
I think a lot of the name impressions that I can put into a contrast like you're doing - can be reduced to 3 basic axes:
Age (either in the sense of youth/maturity, or old-fashion/new-fashion - ultimately connotes the same thing);
conventional-ness / familiarity (degrees of either/both "classic" and "popular");
and low/high status. (Not to be classist, but let's be honest, humans are sensitive to status and it's part of what we care about perceiving in names. Status isn't character.)
And another axis would be positive/negative, a subjective quality - a reflection of my own attitude, how much I like it and why.
The "spin" I put on it, that makes me choose positive or negative, "judging" terms.
I like to see if I can zero out my idiosyncratic taste, which sometimes changes - by setting up any contrasts as equally appealing.
For example, I like some names that are elegant, and some names that aren't elegant. So I could contrast "elegant" with a positive term that describes what impression I would say I like, about a name that I think isn't "elegant." A word like "natural" might work. Or "friendly."
I could set up contrasts between negatives, or between positives...
Or, I could set them up to describe impressions I like vs dislike.
(age words)
bratty / fusty
energetic / sophisticated
juvenile / polished
sweet / stodgy
(familiarity)
gimmicky / boring
striking / timeless
flimsy / perennial
stale / stylish
(status)
garish / prissy
rustic / august
hokey / elegant
amiable / stuck-up
A nerd's journey through the thesaurus - You're welcome lol
Negative age terms:
youthful - juvenile, faddish, babyish, weak, puppyish, childish, naive, emotional, frivolous, giddy, shallow, airheaded, sassy, bratty, callow, dizzy, gawky
mature - stodgy, stiff, heavy, stern, somber, antiquated, dowdy, uptight, dated, dowdy, musty, fusty, archaic, baggy, bombastic, heavy, difficult, dark, matronly, difficult, humorless, unstylish, ugly
Positive age terms:
youthful - fresh, light, soft, sunny, pretty, melodic, versatile, cheerful, sweet, youthful, vigorous, dynamic, chipper, energetic, inspiring, spirited, vivacious, charming, bright, pleasant, winsome, athletic, robust, open, expansive
mature - strong, grounded, polished, sophisticated, intelligent, dependable, alluring, intriguing, canny, sonorous, heroic, cosmopolitan, confident, comforting, vintage, retro, nostalgic, gothic, subtle, intriguing, arch, accomplished
Negative familiarity terms:
novel - peculiar, strange, weird, trendy, gimmicky, faddish, flimsy, bizarre, synthetic, artificial, pretentious, brand-namey, attention-seeking, macabre, controversial, risque, difficult, eccentric, flaky, awkward, jarring, overwrought
familiar - boring, overused, stale, shopworn, trite, basic, unimaginative, common, conformist, bland, dull, ordinary, mundane, plain, white-bread
Positive familiarity terms:
novel - modern, striking, fresh, creative, charismatic, unique, rare, inspiring, stylish, original, daring, dashing, intrepid, bold, chic, distinctive, exotic
familiar - classic, traditional, established, reliable, timeless, popular, neutral, easy, safe, normal, tidy, put-together, respectable, friendly, warm, straightforward, historic, perennial
Negative status terms:
folksy - tacky, hokey, corny, comical, sentimental, gauche, frumpy, provincial, glitzy, gaudy, garish, sloppy, quaint, common, cheap, vulgar, sleazy, trashy, mediocre, brassy, illiterate
noble - stuck-up, stuffy, ostentatious, grandiose, fancy, prissy, pompous, overbearing, cold, pretentious, aloof, fussy, dry, stilted, posh
Positive status terms:
folksy - natural, rustic, outdoorsy, approachable, modest, casual, quirky, whimsical, humble, grounded, amiable, jovial, spunky, plucky, doughty, romantic, pastoral, passionate, enthusiastic, hearty, lively, audacious, pert, virile, sexy, stormy, hip, devil-may-care, nonchalant, fierce, earthy
noble - elegant, gracious, formal, substantial, refined, genteel, classical, regal, heroic, esteemed, harmonious, golden, august, distinguished, stately, generous, sublime, beautiful, sparkling, regency, valiant, gallant, ethereal, literate, urbane
- mirfak
This message was edited 11/11/2024, 2:07 PM
