TUDOR'S FAINT PRAISE (75 - 84) TABLE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ c2002 by Dean Tudor. All rights reserved. Tired of having to wonder what to say about a nice, but not exciting, wine? At a loss for words after the initial vagueness of "floral"/"berry"/"aromatic" nose or "light mouthfeel" or "short finish" or "fairly priced"? Need more descriptors for those wines you've just tasted, and rated between 75 - 84 ? THEN -- look no further than TUDOR'S FAINT PRAISE (75 - 84) TABLE, which emphasizes the POSITIVE (believe it or not, it does!) For a spin, you could use the French or Italian non-cognate translation of the term, for that (wink-wink) cachet... Dean Tudor, professional wordsmith and member of the Wine Writers' Circle of Canada, has developed an incipient WHEEL of terms, divided into two major categories -- and further subdivided into three SUM categories. One: Phrases, subdivided into Standard, Useful, and Modest (the SUM of it) Two: Words, subdivided into Standard, Useful, and Modest (the SUM of it all) All of these words and phrases have been used by dozens of wine critics in thousands of reviews of wines ranging from 75 - 84 points; the use of French and Italian is my twist alone... Available in BETA as ASCII text, for comments (the RFC), at: The WHEEL format will develop from this BETA, and emerge a multi- coloured laminated you-know-what. Orders are already being taken. Price: a bottle of $9.95US wine through PLEASE send me any additions, comments, or changes: your input is vital ! Flame away... I: PHRASES (which can be modified to fit the situation) ======= STANDARD (phrases): - a la mode - after a fashion - all in a day's work - all right - as expected - exhausts its possibilities - follows the mean - gets the best out of it - goes on quietly - in a manner... - just short of... - keeps to the middle - makes the most of it - manages well-enough... - matter-of-course - matter-of-fact - mighty few - more or less - near enough... - near you - no surprises - not in the least... - on no account - passes muster - pretty good - within bounds USEFUL (phrases): - all-purpose - does yeoman service - drink now - drinkable now - find useful - for everbody - have a use for... - have some use - in constant use - make use of... - not bad - of service - performs a function - suits one's purpose - well-known - well-meant - well-priced - worth drinking MODEST (phrases): - avoids excess - cut-out for... - hints of... - in character - in fair condition - in good condition - in some measure - in the region of... - manages to... - non-extreme - not loud - not to be taken for granted - on the brink of... - on the verge of... - small-framed - to a certain extent - to some degree - up to the mark - well-framed - within an ace of... - within sight of... II: WORDS ===== STANDARD - acceptable (It. gradevole) - conventional (Fr. classique, conventionnel) - correct (It. di buon gusto) - customary (Fr. habituel, coutumier d'usage) - decent (Fr. convenable, bienseant) - everyday (Fr. quotidien) - fair (Fr. moyen) - familiar (Fr. amical) - fine (Fr. raffine) - genuine (Fr. sincere) - generic - honest (Fr. honnete) - household (Fr. famille; It. famiglia) - impartial - innocent (It. semplice) - innocuous - interesting - legitimate - literal - median (Fr. du milieu) - mild (Fr. benin) - moderate (Fr. modique) - natural - nice - neat - normal - obvious (Fr. manifeste, evident) - orthodox (Fr. bien pensant) - passable (Fr. assez bon) - pleasing (fr. aimable) - positive - proper (Fr. a propos) - propitious (Fr. propice) - real (Fr. vrai) - refinement (Fr. bien eleve) - regular (Fr. en regle) - satisfactory - simple (Fr. candide) - solid (It. sodo) - sound (Fr. robuste) - standard - straightforward (Fr. sans detour) - subtle (It. sottile) - telling (Fr. puissant, efficace) - tolerable (It. sopportabile) - traditional - true - typical - uniform - universal - unpretentious - unspecified - unspoiled - unstudied (It. spontaneo) - unvarying - usual (Fr. courant) - veritable - vinous USEFUL - accomodating (Fr. obligeant) - adaptable (Fr. souple) - adjustable (It. regolabile) - amusing (Fr. drole; It. divertente spassoso) - applicable (It. adattabile) - approachable - apt (It. atto, adato, capace) - available (It. efficace) - beneficial (Fr. avantageux, salutaire; It. vantaggioso) - competent (Fr. apte) - consumable - contributory - convenient (Fr. pratique; It. comodo) - co-operative - current (It. fiume) - droll - edifying - effective - effectual - efficient - favourable (It. propizio) - friendly (Fr. amical) - fun (Fr. plaisant) - functional - global - handy - healthy (Fr. bien portant) - helpful (Fr. serviable, secourable) - immediate (It. prossimo, vicino) - likeable (Fr. agreable, apprecie, populaire; It. simpatico, amabile) - multi-purpose - obliging (It. compiacente, gentile, servizievole, cartece) - popular (It. in voga, ben voluto) - practical (It. fattibile) - pragmatic - quaffable (It. tracannare) - ready (It. abile, pronto - reasonable (It. ragionevole) - refreshing (It. ristorare) - reliable (It. fidato) - representative - salutary - serviceable (Fr. utile) - sensible (Fr. doue de bonsens) - suitable (It. adatto) - supporting (It. sostenere) - trustworthy (It. fidato, sicuro) - ubiquitous (It. omnipresente) - unobjectionable - unobnoxious - usable (Fr. utilisable) - useful (Fr. pratique) - utilitarian - valid (It. valevole) - versatile - wholesome (Fr. sain) - worthwhile (It. valore, merito) - worthy (Fr. digne) MODEST - agreeable - amicable - appealing (It. supplichevole) - aromatic - attractive (It. attraente) - calm (It. placido) - charming - clean - comfortable (It. comodo) - compact - complaisant - composed (Fr. assure) - dainty (Fr. delicat; It. raffine) - delicate - detached - dispassionate (It. imparziale) - encouraging (It. incoraggiante) - evanescent - fetching - forward (Fr. audacieux) - fragile - fragrant (It. odoroso) - fresh - fruity - good - graceful - humble (Fr. modeste) - hushed (It. far tacere) - lean - light (It. sparuto, scarno, smilzo) - lightweight (Fr. leger) - lively (Fr. vif en joue, plein d'entrain) - mellow - modest (Fr. sans pretention) - muted - original - placid - pleasant (It. gradevole, dilettevole) - pliant - polished (It. lucido) - quiet (Fr. tranquille, paisable) - rarefied - restrained (It. restrizione) - rounded (It. tondetto) - scented - self-effacing (Fr. amour-propre) - slender (Fr. svelte) - slight - smooth (Fr. moelleux) - soft (Fr. tendre, doux) - steady (It. fermo, soldo) - sure (It. sicuro) - sustain (It. provare) - tenuous - tranquil - underrated (It. svalutare) - understated (Fr. minimise) - undervalued (It. sminuire) - unspoiled