[Vocabulary] He thus the queen bespoke.

[never.stop.learning]

Sentence: He thus the queen bespoke. (Taken from wiktionary for bespoke, cant post links, sorry).

What does this mean? I mean I dont really understand the structure of this sentence, I would expect something like

"And thus the queen bespoke" as in "And thus the queen addressed her subjects". Where am I wrong?

Thanks!

 

[5jj]

The words are from a 17th century poem. Even in Dryden's time, people would not have said that in normal speech and writing. The normal rules of grammar are often not observed in poetry, and archaic words may be used.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forums, never.stop.learning.:-D

Here's the link.

It's a line from a poem of John Dryden (1631-1700), so its usage has been obsolete for a long time. Forget it (unless you are studying the works of Dryden).

It means 'He addressed the queen in these words.'

Rover

 

[SoothingDave]

"Bespoke" is not used today, so I would not worry about it.

 

[Tdol]

And thus the queen address her subjects

You've got the wrong tense.

 

[BobK]

"Bespoke" is not used today, so I would not worry about it.

:up: ...except (in Br Eng at least) in the collocation 'bespoke suit' (where it means 'made-to-measure [= not off-the-peg]'). Even in this context, it's falling out of use. Not many modern shops advertise 'bespoke tailoring'.

b

 

[SoothingDave]

:up: ...except (in Br Eng at least) in the collocation 'bespoke suit' (where it means 'made-to-measure [= not off-the-peg]'). Even in this context, it's falling out of use. Not many modern shops advertise 'bespoke tailoring'.

b

Interesting. I'd never heard this phrase.

 

[Tdol]

You'll see it in Savile Row and other such areas.

 

[5jj]

You'll see it in Savile Row and other such areas.

When I went for my last fitting in Savile Row, I met my Harley Street doctor. We discovered that we both bought our guns from Rowland Watson, the bespoke gunsmith and used the bespoke services of the chocolatier Herzog and the bespoke goldsmith Sherry when we bought little gifts for our friends. It's a small world.

Then I woke up.

Note to learners. 'Bespoke' is rarely used by normal humans. Only the rich and famous would patronise the establishments I mentioned.

 

[Tdol]

Rowland Watson? Bah, cheapskate. ;-)

On an irrelevant aside, I recently heard that hunting jackets get their name (hunting pink(s)) from the shirtmaker Thomas Pink who was the go-to place to buy them, which explains the mismatch with the colour.

 

[never.stop.learning]

Thank you all.

I was essentially interested in how would you translate it to modern English, so Rover_KE's answer was the best (he said that it means 'He addressed the queen in these words.'). As I wrote in the example, I thought it goes the other way around, i.e. the queen speaks to someone, not that someone speaks to her.

BTW: I've also heard it in context of something like "bespoke tailoring", but then went ahead to check it on Wiktionary.

 

[emsr2d2]

Without plugging my own business (the one that isn't teaching English!), my business partner and I construct bespoke murder mysteries. We use the word on our website and in all our advertising.