I'm aware of the meaning of unreconstructed but I don't understand the use of ''an unreconstructed romantic''. In what context would I use this phrase? Does it mean that a person is not wanting to change what he thinks is romantic?
I also don't understand for whom should I use ''an unconstructed rocker''. I've tried to google it but haven't got any clear idea.
Unreconstructed in this sense arose after the US Civil War, when it was applied to Southerners who refused to embrace Reconstruction: political and ethical reintegration of the seceded states into the Union.
The term has since then been extended to anyone who refuses to abandon a stance or goal which the speaker regards as unjustifiable or out-of-date—a lost cause. Exactly what the speaker means will depend on context; but an "unreconstructed romantic" might be someone who maintains his romantic ideals in the face of their practical failure, and an "unreconstructed rocker" might mean a musician who continues to play old-fashioned rock music, refusing to adapt her style to more recent or more popular genres.
Unreconstructed may be used in either a positive or a negative sense, depending on the speaker's attitude toward the stance involved.
answered Mar 25 '17 at 16:14
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I have never heard this expression before other than in the historical sense. Cool! Is this perhaps an expression used in the US -- or am I suddenly going to see it used in everything I read? – WRX Mar 25 '17 at 17:16
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@Willow You'll find it all over -- try Googling "unreconstructed liberal" or "Reaganite" or "fan" or "trekkie" or whatever occurs to you that might cling to out-of-date values. – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 25 '17 at 17:29
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Thanks, as I likely understood it in context, I have not noticed seeing it. I will now! ;) (Treker) ;) – WRX Mar 25 '17 at 17:34
"Classical" or "classic" or "original" should work for a formal and positive tone. "Old time" or "old style" is less formal, and implies obsolescence.
