h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: cravats - A846696
Author: Researcher 205774 - U205774

This is my first Guide Entry, and I think it's ready for review. Poor, naive, hopeful young me

Splendid start. Well done.

Who wears cravats these days? What sort of person would wear an artificial fibre cravat? It's like stone-cladding your terraced cottage.

And beautify with GuideML please - you don't get a second chance at a first impression.

yes, i like this too. an excellent debut.

you mention the origin of the word in Middle French, but do you realise that the French word 'cravate' is still the standard term in Mod French for what English calls a 'necktie'? You could say something like "the English word 'cravat' is derived from the French 'cravate', originally coined in the 1*th century from the contemporary French name for modern 'Croatia', where they were first worn."

or maybe not. Looking at mine above, it doesn't look that 'streamlined', does it?

btw, I like the 'for best results' punchline; it comes off nicely.

what Dr Monty says about gml is fair enough... how are you with html or mark-up languages generally? If you know the basics of html, you won't have much trouble with guide-ml.

one practical suggestion:

Using the 'preview' button, play about with the Your subheader text here function.

that's:

Your subheader text here

and do make sure you have told it that you want to use guide-ml mode, not plain text mode. There's a button under the text-entry box.

hope that is helpful.

all the best with this and future writings
spiff

Yeah, what he said

Nice entry. To learn more about GuideML, visit the <./>GuideML-Clinic</.>.

Do you know of any web pages you could link to which have graphics of how to tie a cravat? Using GuideML will allow you to do that in the entry.

Gosho, you're dead proud of your Essex roots aren't you.

Tying a cravat is like tying a tie, half way, and then just sort of covering it with the big bit at the front.

(I expect)

Trout (laughing all the way to the Leeds)

Well, yeah, I spose I am, but you gotta hang on to your roots when you're 5,000 miles away from them amongst a bunch of heathen colonials

As for tying a cravat being like tying a tie, I haven't done that since I was at school, which was a very long time ago, so a refresher course would be needed in my case. In fact, I've tied a dickie bow more times than a regular tie in the past 30 years, and I've only worn a dickie a handful of times in my entire life.

Always where a bow-tie on your last day of work.

In fact, when tying your bow-tie, stop after you've done that first shoe-lace crossover. There. That's the cravat finished. Now just flip the big flap over the quasi-knot and bingo.

Trout

wear not where, you spanner Dr Trout!!!

O f course, if you were true Estuary, that would be 'spannah'

I'm only 3000 miles from that Estuary, in more or less the opposite direction, globally.

Cheers to all for the nice comments. I, for one, wear a cravat, just socially for a bit of a giggle. It's smart like a tie, but casual like... like not wearing a tie! Mmm... And I do have an artificial fibre cravat (and a silk one - but I save that for special loafing/beer sessions) - it doesn't look or feel too bad, surprisingly, and it responds well to pinning. Not so well to knotting, though.

Sadly there's no cravat-tying diagrams to be found on the Net - as stated, there's no hard & fast rules, you just kind of make it up to suit yourself. But I could link in a good site on the history of the cravat, and a nice jokey one too.

Finally, thanks for mentioning GuideML. I have some experience of html, just wasn't sure quite what to do here. I'll read the clinic and beautify a.s.a.p.

Incidentally, Dr Trout, the style you describe - vague knot, flap over front - is the "mailcoach" (or "BBC period drama" ) style I mention in my entry. Certainly the most commonly seen these days, I'd reckon.

Beautification complete. It took me a while to figure out the linking to external sites, but by Jove, I think I've got it. Some nice crinkly fjords would set it off a treat now.

This is a good entry and should certainly go into the Edited Guide. The only sentence I have a problem with is the first one:

A cravat is an item of clothing, traditionally worn by men, and traditionally worn around the neck.

The repitition of "traditionally" is tedious, and I don't think that cravats are ever worn anywhere else other than round the neck. Round the waist they would be cummerbunds, wouldn't they.

So perhaps you would try the following wording:

A cravat is an item of clothing worn around the neck, traditionally by men.

Good idea Gnomon. And the entry is looking very good now

this gives rise to another question: how come when a man wears a silk cloth round his neck, it is a cravat, and when a women wears a similar silk cloth, tied in a similar manner, it is a scarf?

And the neckerchief? Where does that fit in?

I just thought it would be a giggle to suggest cravats might be worn on other bodily parts. I've amended the opening sentence anyway; thanks for the suggestion, Gnomon.

As for neckerchiefs and women's neck-scarves, I can't possibly comment. It's such a grey area.

The thoughts of other body parts and and neckerchiefs makes me think (via Scooby Doo's Freddy) of serviette rings ... which always make me cross my legs after I once hitched a lift with a fireman who had "stories" to tell.

Maybe clarity would be given by mentioning media character specifically that have worn a cravat? If only in a footnote. Being a terrible Doctor Who fan I'll point out that the cravat is a perminent part of the 8th Doctors costume (Paul McGann), and I think Tom Baker's Doctor (4th) wore one on occasion. But if you can think of some specific costume drama characters that have worn them it might be more useful than my rather sci-fi referrence.

Anyway my point is it might be useful for people to have a ready made mental picture because there seems to be more than a few things men can tie around there necks.


Researcher PSG