# Are "artisanal" items in tourist areas mass produced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273 "2024-09-14T22:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/21 "2024-09-30T03:09:23Z")
_Hone in_ definition: to focus one’s attention more narrowly or precisely on a particular task, issue, etc. > **[Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hone-in)** > > The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/22 "2024-09-30T03:24:31Z")
The usage note there says that “the expression _hone in_ is in fact a corruption of home in.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/23 "2024-09-30T03:51:36Z")
I’ve never been accused of being a “careful writer or speaker” 🤷 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/24 "2024-09-30T11:09:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The usage note there says that “the expression _hone in_ is in fact a corruption of home in.” This. It’s considered correct now because people have been using it incorrectly for so long. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/25 "2024-09-30T11:24:12Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Kenya is where soapstone comes from. Soapstone isn’t a rare rock. It’s fairly common globally, and definitely occurs in China. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/26 "2024-09-30T11:43:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Soapstone isn’t a rare rock. It’s fairly common globally, and definitely occurs in China. Some of the figurines are probably roughed out on copy lathes or simlar machines where a bunch of blanks are clamped in place and an operator runs a tool across the surface of a template and it shapes all of the blanks at once, very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273/27 "2024-09-30T12:50:34Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > The usage note there says that “the expression _hone in_ is in fact a corruption of home in.” > > This. It’s considered correct now because people have been using it incorrectly for so long. Hell, that can be said about a decent chunk of all modern English. A decent portion of IMHO & MPSIMS threads are bitching about exactly this phenomenon. IOW: We have met our fellow English speakers and collectively they are idjits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-artisanal-items-in-tourist-areas-mass-produced/1007273.md?page=1)