I will truly never understand why using an a word in the English language that precisely describes exactly what you are trying to describe is somehow pretentious and can inspire such hostility. It is truly a mystery to me.
Never heard the word before the original thread. Boyfriend says he’s heard the word but didn’t know what it meant.
I wouldn’t exactly describe ourselves as blue-collar, as someone upthread has insinuated about people who are unfamiliar with the word. 
UK. I wavered between “common” and “not common” and went for the latter, because I can’t actually remember the last time I encountered it. Like An Gadaí, it does seem to me that people sometimes say it with a smirk, aware of the slight pretentiousness of a fancy word for, let’s face it, chopped up vegetables.
I consider it to be in common usage but don’t use it myself. Usually I refer to specific contents (carrot and celery sticks, radishes etc.) or say “veggies and dip”.
UK here. And yes, this. Everyone I ever met who said this word did so in a slightly self mocking ‘I have momentarily become Alison Steadman’s character from *Abigail’s Party *’ type way.
I’ve seen it in print and heard it said but didn’t know exactly what it meant. I knew it had something to do with food. BTW I’ve worked in food and beverage andhave made many veggie trays. I don’t recall anyone using crudite’ during my time on that job. I found out what it meant today. F&B was also where I learned ramekin and carafe and chevron.
I would say that neither a “cocktail hour” nor a “cocktail party” ever includes a real dinner or “sit-down meal” (though conceivably they might precede or follow one in the same place), and the distinction between the two is in the setting and mood. The “hour” (or “reception”) is less personal, often a quasi-public or organizational event in a larger venue. There are likely to be plenty of people there you don’t know. The “party” is a party, typically in someone’s home. Everybody there is a friend or a friend of a friend.
Possibly some receptions have been passed off as “parties” as part of the trend of corporate fake familiarity.
I voted that I had never seen or heard the word before. However, upon review, I have heard the word. I’ve just never seen it spelled out and, obviously, didn’t know what exactly it was. I’m in Ohio.
As I said before, I only know it from Alton Brown on the Food Network. He used it on some episode where he was attending a party, I believe he was disparaging it as never being eaten.
Aren’t you French?
Then we need to fight some ignorance.
The purpose of words is not to perfectly describe something, but to describe something to someone else. The fact that you choose to use a word that you well know is not common implies you don’t care about the other person understanding you, and is thus somewhat rude, in and of itself.
Furthermore, historically, certain words were used by the knowledgeable elite, and used as an indication that you were better than everyone else. They wanted only other elites to understand them, and didn’t care about the commoners.
In particular, French was often used as this, as French was a language all the educated people had to learn. Since educated people were all in the higher classes, people in the lower classes who wanted to act as if they were higher up (and thus better) would try to pick it up from listening. They couldn’t fool the elite, but they could fool the commoners. Thus such language became associated with these people who were snobs for no reason.
Throw in some anti-classists and even anti-education people, and you get where we are today. It’s not only rude on a practical level, but on a historical level. Tailor your words to the audience, or you will come off as pretentious.
That’s a good thing to keep in mind. Also, that the natural reaction is that “but I wasn’t being pretentious/didn’t intend to be pretentious” may be true, but won’t help.
Pretentious is a label that happens in the other person’s mind. Good communication is more than just language, it’s use of language in such a way as to convey the point without offending. This wouldn’t really be so bad if the reaction was “Sorry*, about that - I meant veggie platter” (in this case, the listener will have both learned the word and not be offended.)
A very different reaction is “Crudite isn’t common? I thought everyone knew that word.” The presumptuous bolded portion will create the impression of pretentiousness and offend needlessly; after all, who knows what’s in everyone else’s head?
[sub]*this is the polite “sorry,” not the apologetic or sarcastic “sorry”[/sub]
Nonsense. I do not know that it is not common. In my experience it is common. And the fact that it is not everyone’s experience does not negate mine. I will not censor myself from using English words (even of foreign derivation such as crudite, hors d’oerve, etc) in case someone doesn’t know it.
However, if I use a word that someone doesn’t understand, I will apologize and explain nicely. That goes for any word, common or not. That is how I developed most of my vocabulary- by being exposed to words I didn’t know and happily learning them.
I am comfortable with everyone’s vocab not being the same. that’s cool. We should be respectful of that. What I do not understand is why the use of a word could cause such hostility such as exhibited by the quote below (bolding mine). And that was what I referring to. Crudites are not just a “goddamn platter”- it is a specific dish and using the word to describe is not wrong, even if someone else is unfamiliar with the term.
What some have said- which I agree with- is the pretension is what happens after you realize someone didn’t know a particular word- shove it their faces? Mock them for it? Jerk. Explain nicely and move on? No problem.
God you hicks really live up to your reputation. I haven’t seem one person say that it was ignorant to not know the word, or that your ‘should’ know the word, just that in their mind it was common enough to not be pretentious when they use it. But no, that’s not enough, you need to attack people for having the temerity to use a word you don’t know.
So I am sorry, next time I talk to someone in the fly-over states I will realize that you are too fucking stupid to know anything and treat you like a moron. Feel better?
You’re really living up to your “hick” moniker. I guess when speaking to someone from Arkansas, we should all use small words so you don’t get confused.
Toronto, never heard it. but then, I’m not into cooking.
Wait, is “chevron” something cooking related? I just know it to be a “V” shape. Does it have another meaning? Or were you told to arrange things in “chevrons” or something like that?
Assuming everyone in Arkansas is a hick is rather pretentious and obnoxious.
You are kinda making my point.
Maybe it’s cheese made from a goat with gas.
I know it, I’ve heard it used and seen it on invitations as part of the menu, but possibly that’s because the people I know know how to spell it, and aren’t sure about hors d’oeuvres… (As I am not sure. And I’m too lazy to look anything up right now.) I’m thinking I probably first heard this word in California. I know it’s not a straight equivalent of hors d’oeuvres but I think it may have been used that way. I think when I heard it, it was being mispronounced. Of course, I thought that about hors d’oeuvres, too, when I compared the pronunciation with the spelling.