Or perhaps the Veblenites.
Bryan Appleyard finds some Iranian special type peaches. They’re great.
His enjoyment of them is reduced when he finds out that they are also sold in M&S.
Positional goods? Conspicuous consumption? Not quite the right descriptions, are they. Anyone got the right phrase to describe this?
9 responses so far ↓
1 jeremiah // Jul 1, 2008 at 12:05 pm
“Being a foodponce” sums it up fairly accurately
2 RobtE // Jul 1, 2008 at 12:24 pm
How about “The My-Favourite-Indie-Band-That-Only-I-And-A-Few-Select-Others-Really-Appreciated-Has-Gone-Mainstream Effect”?
3 KMcC // Jul 1, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I think it’s called snobbery
4 Eva // Jul 1, 2008 at 12:36 pm
“Desperate Snob”?
I know the shops – three in a row – and they’re owned by really nice people. They’ve been selling those peaches – which *are* exceptionally delicious although they look as if they’ve been sat on – for at least three years now.
What poor old Appleyard doesn’t seem to realise is that they’re now being sold in every other greengrocers stall and even non-posh grocery stores. Bad luck!
5 Anon // Jul 1, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I think that conspicuous consumption is about right, if you extend it not just to be about showing how much money you have, but also how well connected/intelligent you are.
6 dearieme // Jul 1, 2008 at 5:53 pm
PretentiousPonceProvisioning.
7 Eva // Jul 1, 2008 at 6:18 pm
PPP gets my vote.
8 Stephen // Jul 2, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Ever heard of irony?
Tim adds: Nope, never. What is it, some variation of brassy or tinny?
9 Jeremy Poynton // Jul 2, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Very funny, actually. Someone born with a humour by-pass?
Leave a Comment