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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 156: Newfangled, Old-fangled
Record Date: May 15, 2022
Air Date: May 18, 2022
Intro
Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Shauna Harrison
Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
You have probably heard the word newfangled. And you may have heard the word old-fangled. And I imagine, if the previous two statements were true, then you’ve likely wondered if there was a simple fangle. But that pseudo-logic is exactly what Carl Sagan said leads people to think there are dinosaurs on Venus. But that’s another topic for another day.
https://youtu.be/dvmssV443u0?t=59
So instead, let’s turn to the Oxford English Dictionary to pin down what we are talking about here.
Meaning
Old-fangled, means
Quote
Characterized by adherence to what is old; old-fashioned.
End Quote
We’ll come back to this later, because it’s a much newer phrase than newfangle.
New fangle, also newfangled, means:
Quote
a new fashion or crotchet; a novelty, new invention
End Quote
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, 5th edition, crotchet - in Middle English - means:
Quote
An odd, whimsical, or stubborn notion.
End Quote
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=crotchet
I’m not sure how we got from the Old French crochet with a definition of a hook, to this whimsical notion, but since it isn’t the point of our episode we’ll just have to leave this one in the “temporarily unknown” pile. That’s the second one in the first minutes of the show.
Newfangle came to us in the 1300s as an adjective, a word that describes a person who was excessively fond of novelty or new things, or keen to take up new fashions or ideas. As is the case today, calling someone or something newfangled had a negative connotation.
It originally popped up in colloquial and regional dialects of the Scots languages. Oxford English Dictionary notes it could have come from Middle Dutch, but Merriam-Webster notes it may also have come from a combination of the Middle English word for new and the Old English verb fangol, meaning to take. Interestingly, the root of fangol would eventually be used to describe animal teeth because of the strength with which they could hold things. That word being, fangs.
Here’s an example of newfangle from around 1393, in John Gower’s Confessio Amantis - which is basically a 33,000 line poem of an aging lover. Two words that might seem unfamiliar as I read the quote are quemeth, meaning to please, or to pleasure, and natheles, meaning nevertheless.
Quote
Bot every newe love quemeth To him which newefongel is. And natheles nou after this, If that you list to taken hiede
End Quote
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/266/266-h/266-h.htm
Gower is frequently mentioned in the same conversation as Chaucer. So it seems only right to include newfangle as mentioned by Geoffery Chaucer, from about 1395 in Squire’s Tale:
Quote
So newefangel been they of hir mete And louen nouelries of propre kynde.
End Quote
Old and Middle English be whacka, yo.
In the late 1500s we saw “newfangle” shift to be used as a noun as a new fashion or new invention, usually one speaker disapproves of. It’s actually during this time we start to see the word “fangle” come around. One would think the use of newfangle would imply there was a simple fangle. But one would be wrong.
The Oxford English Dictionary says, fangle is probably a mistake word.
Quote:
Fangle apparently arose from a mistaken analysis of newfangled… ‘eager for novelty’. As newfangled was said both of persons and of their actions or productions, it came to be diversely interpreted to mean either ‘characterized by new fashions or crotchets’ or ‘newly fashioned or fabricated’.
End Quote
So at the same time we saw newfangle start to be used as a noun, we also saw fangle as a fantastic, foppish, or silly contrivance. This doesn’t seem to have any connection to the Old English word “fangol” which meant to take, other than fangol may have been one of the reasons we have newfangled today.
So there really wasn’t a fangle, but since people were saying newfangle about new stuff that seemed odd, it became assumed there was a fangle, about any stuff that was odd, whether new or not. So we backwards made up the word fangle in the late 1500s, despite using newfangle as an adjective since the late 1300s.
Newfangled as a noun, as English speakers tend to do, quickly became verbified. It took on a meaning as in to dress up anew.
Here’s an example from John Milton, in his 1641 work Of prelatical episcopacy 1st edition, Speaking of a well-learned man…
Quote
…Shall have all judicious men consenting with him; Not hereby to control and new fangle the Scripture, God Forbid! but to mark how corruption and apostasy crept in by degrees…
End Quote
Alas, the noun and verb versions mostly dried up for newfangle and fangle by the start of the 1900s.
But in the mid-1700.
The definition, again, given by the Oxford English Dictionary, is
Quote
Characterized by adherence to what is old; old-fashioned.
End Quote
Here is an early attestation from Richard Griffith in the 1764 work The triumvirate: or, The authentic memoirs of A. B. and C.
Quote
I was really, as much puzzled…to know how to deal with her old-fangled notions.
End Quote
Here are a few more examples of each, just to give you a feel how the phrases were used back in ye olden days.
1791
1890
And a quick note to all of my fellow Red Dead Redemption 2 players, yes I said Arthur Morgan. No, I don’t think there is any correlation. Yes, I had to make sure Arthur Morgan had to get the stag at the end because I just couldn’t do the dishonorable ending for him because I just really like him as a character. And no, this has nothing to do with our phrase but everything to do with what is right and just in the world and anyway it’s time to move to our last example.
1917
It’s interesting that “new fangle” is usually expressed as two words. While an “newfangled”, with an “ed” at the end is usually just one word. Old-fangled, however, is almost always hyphenated.
But grammar aside, you now know newfangled was in use by the late 1300s, spawned a backwards creation of fangle in the 1500s, which lasted several hundred years before joining many other old-fangled words. But old-fangled itself is a much newer word than either of the other two, showing up by the 1700s and, alongside newfangled as descriptive words, is still making the rounds today.
But before we tell you exactly *how* they are making those rounds, we want to say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
Shauna:
This episode is sponsored by our amazing Patrons on Patreon.
You can help support this educational artform and get awesome perks along the way! Tiers start at $3 a month, which get you our polls and community-only discussions, early access to the podcast, and the behind the scenes video for each episode so you can watch along as we make the show.
At $10 you’ll also get original digital artwork from Shauna once a month featuring exclusive art about an idiom or other turn of phrase. At $15, you’ll also get personal on-air recognition like Pat Rowe does every episode. And of course huge thanks goes to the top spot among our Patrons, our Dean of Learning, Mary Halsig-Lopez. Thank you so much to Mary and all of our patrons.
If you want to help create Bunny Trails week after week, whatever your budget, we are bunnytrailspod on Patreon.
That’s patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
Modern Uses
As we jump into our modern uses, I want to mention a conversation that Ryan and Amy over at the Lexitecture podcast had about old-fangled. Amy was talking about the word “old” and mentioned some ways it was used in conjunction with other words and sounds. Ryan just became enamored with the word. And he’s one of the reasons I’ve had this phrase on my list since their “episode 31: Old Dog” aired back in January of 2019. I remember it because it came out just before we left for Podcon 2 in Seattle and I listened to it on the way there. That’s where we did a live recording of our Episode 32: By the Skin of My Teeth. There’s a link in our show notes to their website, but you can find Lexitecture at any proprietor of proper podcasts.
Old-fangled convo in Lexitecture Episode 31: Old Dog - 40 minutes in…
https://www.lexitecture.com/2019/01/14/episode-31-old-dog/
Let’s kick off the modern examples with a 1978 book by Jerry Mack Johnson titled, “Down Home Ways: Old-Fangled Skills for Making Hundreds of Simple, Useful Things”.
The synopsis from Amazon read:
Quote
A storehouse of directions and recipes for hundreds of projects, this catalog contains instructions for making useful and economical products such as homemade shampoo, cough medicine, cosmetics, rugs, hammocks, and corncob pipes
End Quote
https://www.amazon.com/Down-Home-Ways-Old-Fangled-Skills-Hundreds/dp/B001SW8SGC
Here’s a 1998 book, Newfangled by Debra Monroe. And the synopsis from Goodreads say:
Quote
From award-winning writer Debra Monroe comes a funny and poignant story of a woman's quest to find a physical and emotional home.
Maddie, a refugee from two marriages, wanders from place to place seeking new options and new connections. She eventually settles in a cozy old neighborhood in Tucson, gets a job, and contemplates her life so far: a mother who's been missing for two decades, a father she rarely sees, two sisters married to the same men for fifteen years, and a circle of quirky, spiteful, but loyal friends. Just as she's trying to decide whether she's actually "at home" in Tucson, she receives a phone call that sends her on another journey -- one that takes her both physically and emotionally into the past and affords her a glimpse of a newfangled future.
End Quote
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2819336-newfangled
In 2014, Brent Lamb released his album Newfangled Hymns, a variety of bluegrass christian religious.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/newfangled-hymns/900995934
I also found a fun distillery out of Illinois, USA. It’s called Blaum Bros. Their “About Me” section says:
Quote
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. was founded in 2013 by two brothers who found that the only way they could get along was to drink whiskey with each other. This love for the magical brown spirit led the brothers down the path less traveled; one where they ended up quitting their careers to distill fine spirits that would be enjoyed by all. After years of research, involving no formal education or hipster vests, the brothers have produced what they believe are deliciously intoxicating liquors. Are they bonafide? Only you can be the judge. As the boys always say: “Drink better, drink responsibly, and take your spirits — not yourselves — seriously."
Disclaimer: The brothers’ Grandfather did not distill moonshine for Al Capone, they don’t have a secret family recipe, and they were not the first distillery since prohibition to do this or that.
End Quote
I tell you this because they had an Oldfangled Knotter Bourbon,
Here is the description…
Quote
This bourbon is big, bold, and has been non-chill filtered. 10 years old and cask strength. When exposed to cold temperatures or cold people, a slight haze may occur. This is normal. Because flavor. By the way, this product has now been retired. We have some available at the bar if you'd like a pour or six, but bottles are dunzo.
End Quote
https://www.blaumbros.com/oldfangled-knotter
In 2022, Broken Palate published an article titled, “The Most Compelling Newfangled Pizzas Around the U.S.”.
It speaks of the Umami-Packed Pizza at Nana’s Bakery & Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut. For those of you of my age, you may recognize the location from Mystic Pizza with Julie Roberts. It also talks about “Reducing Recidivism by the Square Slice at Down North Pizza in Philadelphia”, “Making Pizza Pho Real at Hapa Pizza in Beaverton, Oregon”, and “Peachy Pie at Myke’s Pizza in Mesa, Arizona”.
https://www.brokenpalate.com/p/the-most-compelling-newfangled-pizzas?s=r
I ran across a band called Old-Fangled in our home state of Kansas. This Lawrence-based band is comprised of music veterans of the last 20 years that perform a forthright cross-section of American music including bluegrass, old-time, honky-tonk, and western swing. We’ll link to their Facebook where you can find more information and performance schedules. Or search them on Youtube. Loads of fun content from their performances.
https://www.facebook.com/OldFangledMusic/
And of course, I can’t walk away from this segment without talking about the barber shop quartet, Newfangled Four. Here’s a short segment from their “Get to Know Us” page on their website.
Quote
From Southern California, The Newfangled Four is one of the top barbershop quartets in the world, performing all around the country as well as internationally. Formed in the fall of 2012, this foursome quickly bonded through their involvements with the Westminster Chorus and Masters of Harmony, two well-renowned choruses in the Barbershop Harmony Society. Combining old fashion slapstick humor with their quirky youthful comedy, The Newfangled Four merges their talents as top notch harmony singers and first class entertainers.”
End Quote
Wrap up...
Whether you want to use newfangled, old-fangled, or just plain fangled, we hope you feel comfortable jumping onboard with the trio of fangled phrases. And we’re 1,000% behind Ryan and Amy over at Lexitecture who want to bring Old-Fangled back to the forefront of our phrases. Let’s make this happen. But maybe let’s not make it always mean we dislike the thing. Let’s make all sorts of fangles, new and old, to be cool things that everyone wants to have. At least that’s what I think we should do with this phrase.
Outro
Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on social media where we are @bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com
Shauna:
Poll time!
Recently, we asked our US Patrons about taxes.
When paying income taxes, what best describes your timing?
And there was an even-split between “I file them as soon as I can” versus “I wait until the last minute”.
Dan:
When I first started doing income taxes, I kind of assumed the only reason to wait until the last minute was if you had to pay more to the government than what you’d already paid. But over the past 20+ years I’ve learned there are many reasons why someone might wait.
Shauna:
Here’s an example from Mary, who now owns her own business, talking about her past career.
Quote
I almost always have filed an extension. Being a music teacher, the spring was a horrible time to try to do taxes with festivals, concerts, and end of year activities.
End Quote
Dan:
Yes, that’s a great example! I also know some people outsource the timing. They send it all to their tax person and let the tax person decide when to file it.
Shauna:
As a reminder, Patrons of all levels get to take part in our polls, usually decided by Dan’s whimsy a week before they post. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!
Outro
Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
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