Concerning the Word "Artisanal"

Words wear out. "Artisanal" has been worn out with unusual speed, and I have watched it happen with the horror of a man observing a favorite coat being used to clean an engine.

It once described something specific: made by a person, in a small quantity, by hand, with skill acquired over years. It now describes crisps. It describes sandwiches sold beside motorway petrol pumps. I have seen it applied to a mass-produced water.

I do not propose we save the word. It is beyond saving. I propose instead that you ignore it entirely and ask better questions. Who made this. Where. How many did they make. What did they do differently from the enormous factory down the road.

The good producers answer those questions eagerly and at length, often at greater length than you wanted. The bad ones reach for adjectives. This is the most reliable test I know, and it costs nothing to apply.