"Maccaroni" redirects here. For the type of pasta, see Macaroni.
A macaroni (formerly spelled maccaroni[1]) was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable fellow of mid-18th-century England. Stereotypically, men in the macaroni subculture dressed, spoke, and behaved in an unusually sentimental and androgynous manner.
Self portrait of Richard Cosway, a Georgian-era portrait painter, who was known as the "Macaroni Artist"
"The Macaroni. A real Character at the late Masquerade", mezzotint by Philip Dawe, 1773
A fop from "What is this my Son Tom?", 1774
The term "macaroni" pejoratively referred to a man who "exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion"[2] in terms of high-end clothing, fastidious eating, and gambling. He mixed Continental affectations with his English nature, like a practitioner of macaronic verse (which mixed English and Latin to comic effect), laying himself open to satire.
In the 18th century, wealthy young British men traditionally took a trip around Europe upon their coming of age, known as his Grand Tour. Italy was a key destination of these tours. During their trip, many developed a taste for maccaroni, a type of pasta little known in England then, and so they were said to belong to the Macaroni Club.[5] They would refer to anything that was fashionable or à la mode as "very maccaroni".[6]
Author Horace Walpole wrote to a friend in 1764 of "the Macaroni Club [Almack's], which is composed of all the travelled young men who wear long curls and spying-glasses".[7] The expression was particularly used to characterize "fops" who dressed in high fashion with tall, powdered wigs with a chapeau bras on top that could only be removed on the point of a sword.
The shop of engravers and printsellers Mary and Matthew Darly in the fashionable West End of London sold their sets of satirical "macaroni" caricature prints, published between 1771 and 1773. The new Darly shop became known as "the Macaroni Print-Shop".[2]
Design historian Peter McNeil links macaroni fashion to the crossdressing of the earlier molly subculture, and says "some macaronis may have utilized aspects of high fashion in order to affect new class identities, but others may have asserted what we would now label a queer identity".[4][a]
The Italian term maccherone, when figuratively meaning "blockhead, fool", was apparently not related to this British usage, though both were derived from the name of the pasta shape.[5]
Examples of usage
In 1773, James Boswell was on tour in Scotland with the stout and serious-minded essayist and lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson, the least dandified[citation needed] of Londoners. Johnson was awkward in the saddle, and Boswell ribbed him: "You are a delicate Londoner; you are a maccaroni; you can't ride."[8]
There is indeed a kind of animal, neither male nor female, a thing of the neuter gender, lately [1770] started up among us. It is called a macaroni. It talks without meaning, it smiles without pleasantry, it eats without appetite, it rides without exercise, it wenches without passion.[9]
In Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer (1773), a misunderstanding is discovered and young Marlow finds that he has been mistaken; he cries out, "So then, all's out, and I have been damnably imposed on. O, confound my stupid head, I shall be laughed at over the whole town. I shall be stuck up in caricatura in all the print-shops. The Dullissimo Maccaroni. To mistake this house of all others for an inn, and my father's old friend for an innkeeper!"
The song "Yankee Doodle" from the time of the American Revolutionary War mentions a man who "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni." Dr. Richard Shuckburgh was a British surgeon and also the author of the song's lyrics; the joke which he was making was that the Yankees were naive and unsophisticated enough to believe that a feather in the hat was a sufficient mark of a macaroni. Whether or not these were alternative lyrics sung in the British army, they were enthusiastically taken up by the Americans themselves.[10]
^This reading has not been universally accepted; Kevin Murphy and Sally O'Driscoll argue that this implied that both the wearer and the casual observer would have drawn the same interpretation from aspects of macaroni clothing.[4]
^ abcMurphy, Kevin; O'Driscoll, Sally (2013). Studies in Ephemera: Text and Image in Eighteenth-Century Print. Bucknell University Press. p. 267. ISBN978-1-61148-495-3.
^ ab"Macaroni". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
^Knowles, James, ed. (2008) [1905]. The Nineteenth century and after. Vol. 58. Leonard Scott Pub. Co., 1905. p. 278 – via Princeton University and the Internet Archive.
^James Boswell, Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1785, chapter 7 available on-line 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine; he liked it well enough to repeat it in his Life of Dr. Johnson.
^The Oxford Magazine, 1770, quoted in Joseph Twadell Shipley, The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (JHU Press) 1984:143.
macaroni, fashion, maccaroni, redirects, here, type, pasta, macaroni, macaroni, formerly, spelled, maccaroni, pejorative, term, used, describe, fashionable, fellow, 18th, century, england, stereotypically, macaroni, subculture, dressed, spoke, behaved, unusual. Maccaroni redirects here For the type of pasta see Macaroni A macaroni formerly spelled maccaroni 1 was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable fellow of mid 18th century England Stereotypically men in the macaroni subculture dressed spoke and behaved in an unusually sentimental and androgynous manner Self portrait of Richard Cosway a Georgian era portrait painter who was known as the Macaroni Artist The Macaroni A real Character at the late Masquerade mezzotint by Philip Dawe 1773 A fop from What is this my Son Tom 1774 The term macaroni pejoratively referred to a man who exceeded the ordinary bounds of fashion 2 in terms of high end clothing fastidious eating and gambling He mixed Continental affectations with his English nature like a practitioner of macaronic verse which mixed English and Latin to comic effect laying himself open to satire The macaronis became seen in stereotyped terms by the English aristocracy being seen as a symbol of inappropriate bourgeois excess effeminacy and possible homosexuality which was then legally viewed as sodomy 3 Many modern critics view the macaroni as representing a general change in 18th century English society such as political change class consciousness new nationalisms commodification and consumer capitalism 4 The macaroni was the Georgian era precursor to the dandy of the Regency and Victorian eras Contents 1 Origins and etymology 2 Examples of usage 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesOrigins and etymology EditIn the 18th century wealthy young British men traditionally took a trip around Europe upon their coming of age known as his Grand Tour Italy was a key destination of these tours During their trip many developed a taste for maccaroni a type of pasta little known in England then and so they were said to belong to the Macaroni Club 5 They would refer to anything that was fashionable or a la mode as very maccaroni 6 Author Horace Walpole wrote to a friend in 1764 of the Macaroni Club Almack s which is composed of all the travelled young men who wear long curls and spying glasses 7 The expression was particularly used to characterize fops who dressed in high fashion with tall powdered wigs with a chapeau bras on top that could only be removed on the point of a sword The shop of engravers and printsellers Mary and Matthew Darly in the fashionable West End of London sold their sets of satirical macaroni caricature prints published between 1771 and 1773 The new Darly shop became known as the Macaroni Print Shop 2 Design historian Peter McNeil links macaroni fashion to the crossdressing of the earlier molly subculture and says some macaronis may have utilized aspects of high fashion in order to affect new class identities but others may have asserted what we would now label a queer identity 4 a The Italian term maccherone when figuratively meaning blockhead fool was apparently not related to this British usage though both were derived from the name of the pasta shape 5 Examples of usage EditIn 1773 James Boswell was on tour in Scotland with the stout and serious minded essayist and lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson the least dandified citation needed of Londoners Johnson was awkward in the saddle and Boswell ribbed him You are a delicate Londoner you are a maccaroni you can t ride 8 There is indeed a kind of animal neither male nor female a thing of the neuter gender lately 1770 started up among us It is called a macaroni It talks without meaning it smiles without pleasantry it eats without appetite it rides without exercise it wenches without passion 9 In Oliver Goldsmith s She Stoops to Conquer 1773 a misunderstanding is discovered and young Marlow finds that he has been mistaken he cries out So then all s out and I have been damnably imposed on O confound my stupid head I shall be laughed at over the whole town I shall be stuck up in caricatura in all the print shops The Dullissimo Maccaroni To mistake this house of all others for an inn and my father s old friend for an innkeeper The song Yankee Doodle from the time of the American Revolutionary War mentions a man who stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni Dr Richard Shuckburgh was a British surgeon and also the author of the song s lyrics the joke which he was making was that the Yankees were naive and unsophisticated enough to believe that a feather in the hat was a sufficient mark of a macaroni Whether or not these were alternative lyrics sung in the British army they were enthusiastically taken up by the Americans themselves 10 The prominently crested macaroni penguin The macaroni penguin was probably given this name because of its prominent crests citation needed See also Edit Fashion portalDandy Metrosexual HipsterNotes Edit This reading has not been universally accepted Kevin Murphy and Sally O Driscoll argue that this implied that both the wearer and the casual observer would have drawn the same interpretation from aspects of macaroni clothing 4 OED a b Rauser Amelia F 11 October 2004 Hair Authenticity and the Self Made Macaroni Eighteenth Century Studies 38 1 101 117 doi 10 1353 ecs 2004 0063 JSTOR 30053630 S2CID 162279247 Project MUSE 173943 Hardy Myronn 2012 Catastrophic Bliss Rowman amp Littlefield p 259 ISBN 978 1 61148 494 6 a b c Murphy Kevin O Driscoll Sally 2013 Studies in Ephemera Text and Image in Eighteenth Century Print Bucknell University Press p 267 ISBN 978 1 61148 495 3 a b Macaroni Oxford English Dictionary Retrieved 2011 01 18 Rauser 2004 Knowles James ed 2008 1905 The Nineteenth century and after Vol 58 Leonard Scott Pub Co 1905 p 278 via Princeton University and the Internet Archive James Boswell Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides 1785 chapter 7 available on line Archived 2007 03 11 at the Wayback Machine he liked it well enough to repeat it in his Life of Dr Johnson The Oxford Magazine 1770 quoted in Joseph Twadell Shipley The Origins of English Words A Discursive Dictionary of Indo European Roots JHU Press 1984 143 See Yankee Doodle variations and parodies References EditRictor Norton The Macaroni Club Homosexual Scandals in 1772 in Homosexuality in Eighteenth Century England A Sourcebook The Lewis Walpole Library Yale Preposterous Headdresses and Feathered Ladies Hair Wigs Barbers and Hairdressers Exhibition 2003 1 A Queer Taste for Macaroni Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Macaroni fashion amp oldid 1124012525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
