Quaint can also be employed in a pejorative manner to suggest that a thing’s dated look makes it tacky or otherwise unattractive. A historic recreation of a scary medieval dungeon would likely seem strange in comparison to modern jails, but it is probably too creepy and unsettling to be quaint. Regardless of how old it is, something quaint is attention-grabbing because it is starkly out of place in an ordinary setting.Īll quaint things seem strange, but strange things are only quaint if they are in some way alluring or interesting as a result of their peculiarity. For instance, you might buy a quaint medallion from a craft show because you think the grotesque mythical creature engraved on it is weirdly cool. However, the word can also be used more generally to describe things that are appealingly or strikingly peculiar for any reason. This sense of quaint specifically characterizes outdated things that feel charmingly strange from a modern perspective. For instance, an old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle (famous for their gigantic front wheels) might seem quaint to someone who is amused by how much styles of transportation have changed since the Victorian era. Quaint describes something as appealing on account of its oddness or antiquity. If we take the time to appreciate these relics of a bygone age we might appreciate them for their quaint charms, or at least as testaments to how far we’ve come.
After all, if the old versions worked fine, we wouldn’t need the newer ones, right? Despite the dizzying pace of progress, though, there are still stately old landmarks and antique treasures that have withstood the test of time.
In a world of constant innovation, it can be tempting to think that newer is always better.
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