The English Oracle

Could "old fashioned" mean "angry" or "disconsolate" in early 19th Century England?

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Track title: Puzzle Island

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Chapters
00:00 Could &Quot;Old Fashioned&Quot; Mean &Quot;Angry&Quot; Or &Quot;Disconsolate&Quot; In Early 19th Cen
01:53 Accepted Answer Score 10
02:18 Thank you

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Full question
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Tags
#meaning #etymology #archaicisms #literature

#avk47



ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 10


The second example is not so much 'disdainful' as 'disapproving', and is still in use in Britain (e.g. here). However, the OED's earliest citation is 1911, and that doubtful, so O'Brien is apparently using twentieth-century language rather than nineteenth. But bear in mind that there is very little evidence for how seamen spoke in those days, so it may easily be accurate; just not demonstrably so.