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. 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. Two: Words, subdivided into Standard, Useful, and Modest. 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... 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 everybody - 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 - accommodating (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