# Windsor Knot or Windsor Not **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 17, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501 "2013-01-17T13:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/1 "2013-01-17T13:07:25Z")
There is no such thing as a “Half Windsor”. What you call a “Half Windsor” is more accurately described as “Not Knowing How to Tie a Fucking Tie”. Thank you for your attention. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/2 "2013-01-17T13:17:44Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > There is no such thing as a “Half Windsor”. > What you call a “Half Windsor” is more accurately described as “Not Knowing How to Tie a Fucking Tie”. > > Thank you for your attention. I shall give this all the attention it de…Look! A squirrel! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/3 "2013-01-17T13:20:54Z")
Windsor, schmindsor. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/4 "2013-01-17T13:22:38Z")
That’s the “Alcatraz Ascot.” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/5 "2013-01-17T13:26:38Z")
Beats a Half Nelson though, at least in an interview. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/6 "2013-01-17T13:27:11Z")
Really sticking your neck out here… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/7 "2013-01-17T13:32:04Z")
Meh. Not my favourite, but definitely a recognised knot: [http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~tmf20/tieknots.shtml](http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~tmf20/tieknots.shtml) Pratt knot for the win (symmetrical, does less damage to the tie) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/8 "2013-01-17T13:38:57Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > Meh. Not my favourite, but definitely a recognised knot: Oh, I recognize it alright. I recognize it as an announcement of “Hey! Look! I’m a jackass who doesn’t know how to tie a tie!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/9 "2013-01-17T13:42:13Z")
So, is it a tie “clip” or a tie “magazine”? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/10 "2013-01-17T13:46:43Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Oh, I recognize it alright. I recognize it as an announcement of “Hey! Look! I’m a jackass who doesn’t know how to tie a tie!” I’m guessing you’re a Windsor fan? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/11 "2013-01-17T13:52:54Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Oh, I recognize it alright. I recognize it as an announcement of “Hey! Look! I’m a jackass who doesn’t know how to tie a tie!” Or possibly, someone who has a very long torso and can’t spare the extra length it takes to wrap a tie around itself 11 times just so they can feel like people give a shit about their tie. ETA: Prig. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/12 "2013-01-17T13:56:40Z")
Unless it’s an [eldredge knot](http://agreeordie.com/blog/musings/545-how-to-tie-a-necktie-eldredge-knot), who cares? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/13 "2013-01-17T13:59:13Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > What you call a “Half Windsor” is more accurately described as “Not Knowing How to Tie a Fucking Tie”. Ah, the Dook of Windsor. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/14 "2013-01-17T14:13:33Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Or possibly, someone who has a very long torso and can’t spare the extra length it takes to wrap a tie around itself 11 times just so they can feel like people give a shit about their tie. The Pratt knot is good for that, and easier on the tie. The Windsor though? I think Fleming had a point in From Russia With Love: “Bond mistrusted anyone who tied his tie with a Windsor knot. It showed too much vanity. It was often the mark of a cad.” Also, as noted in my previous cite, it is the de facto knot of your communist dictator type. Chavez, Putin, most of the chinese government…well, you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/15 "2013-01-17T14:36:11Z")
I know how to tie a Windsor knot, but I am usually that guy wearing a bow tie. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/16 "2013-01-17T14:40:05Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > There is no such thing as a “Half Windsor”. > What you call a “Half Windsor” is more accurately described as “Not Knowing How to Tie a Fucking Tie”. Where the hell did this come from? I’m willing to bet that the half Windsor is the most common way to tie a tie in the world. The four-in-hand is clearly the lowliest of the tie knots. It isn’t even debatable. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/17 "2013-01-17T14:49:56Z")
The latest issue of “Tie and Cummerbund” has an article on “deviant” knots. They think they should be banned before another generation of boys is traumatized by the knowledge that, indeed, there is but One Correct Way to tie a tie. And that is Pratt. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/18 "2013-01-17T14:59:33Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > There is no such thing as a “Half Windsor”. > What you call a “Half Windsor” is more accurately described as “Not Knowing How to Tie a Fucking Tie”. You have my deepest sympathies. I would be outraged too. First the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and now this. I blame the libertarians. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/19 "2013-01-17T15:01:33Z")
The issues only arises when one makes the error of purchasing a defective tie with its clip-on attachment missing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501/20 "2013-01-17T15:16:07Z")
Sorry, OP, bu tyou reveal yourself to be ignorant on the issue of men’s fashion. The half Windsor is a perfectly acceptable knot that can be used depending on the shape of the wearer’s face and the event to which the tie will be worn. I use as my cite _Dressing the Man_, a book which I own and consult regularly. > **[Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion: Flusser, Alan:...](https://www.amazon.com/Dressing-Man-Mastering-Permanent-Fashion/dp/0060191449)** > > Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion \[Flusser, Alan\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion Your position seems to be based on the mistaken belief that there are lock step rules to style, when in fact there are not. Remember, fashion is for those with out taste and etiquette is for those without manners. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windsor-knot-or-windsor-not/647501.md?page=2)