I want to start dropping the word “bespoke” into my conversations, but am unsure of the pronunciation. Is it be-SPOKE or BESS-poke, or some third option? I’d ask my tailor, but he barely speaks English as is.
I can’t say I’m 100% sure about it, but I would say “be-SPOKE”.
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary speaker thingy it’s pronounced “bi-spoke”.
Yes, it’s be-SPOKE, but I’d suggest that if you have to check on the pronunciation of a word, it’s best not to start peppering your conversation with it, as you may well misuse it or otherwise come across as pretentious.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t bespoke until you’re bespoken to.
Wikipedia’s audio pronunciation sounds like “biss-SPOKE” but I would throw a little more schwa into that first syllable.
Surely it depends at least a little on where you are? In my (fairly RP) accent, it’s more “b’spoke”, but I hear Americans aren’t as keen on missing out whole sections of words as we are.
I’m in Korea, a land where there’s a surplus of really good, affordable custom tailors. I notice the term “bespoke” gets used a lot in the UK edition of Esquire, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it in the US edition.
That’s how I’ve heard it. I grew up in Iowa…well, maybe I learned it from Public Television.
doubleplusgood for “b’spoke” at least in the UK.
My grandfather had his suits *and shirts *made bespoke and I went with him on a few occasions to gawp at it all.
The family fortunes have fallen a bit with the intervening generations…
Do you go to the tailors in Itaewon? I’ve always wanted to get some shirts fitted but am never sure where to go.
Just watch Grand Designs, as Kevin trots it out a couple of times every episode.
Wiktionary gives different pronunciations for US (bəˈspoʊk) and UK (bɪˈspəʊk). I think they’re exaggerating the differences, but both use a short first syllable, emphasis on the second.
If you have to guess, don’t stress the first syllable, it’s more likely wrong. Go with the second.
So call the p’leece! 
Just use artisanal, instead…
(I love these words folks invoke to try to add a little* je ne sais quoi *to their speech…doesn’t sound forced at all…)
You do see the word in America, but the more usual term is custom.
And I agree that it’s b’SPOKE with that upper-class swallow of the vowel.
I wish it were true, **'Xap **- but in Guitar Douchebags, um, Aficionado magazine, they will reference Custom Shop guitars as “bespoke” :rolleyes:
In my experience, invoking words like that in all but the rarest of cases has the exact opposite effect that the invoker thinks it does…
…so I guess that means I am saying than ***One Should Not be a “Bespoke” Invoker ***
I have a really terrific sport coat and overcoat I got made in Itaewon (different tailors), and I buy most of my other clothes at a place there called “Big Boss.” But I live in Daegu, and I’ve noticed some local tailors here who are just as good as the guys in Seoul, and I don’t have to spring for KTX tickets. Lately, I’ve had a lot of stuff done by one of the tailors in the Banwoldang underground shopping center, and I’ve been really impressed. As I write this, he’s making me a seersucker suit for under 300K won; if this summer is anything like the last, I’ll be really glad I have it!
Archer?
Bespoke is used to describe specialized financial products at the bank that I work at. But I would personally use “custom” for everyday conversation to avoid sounding pretentious.