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.
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2 Answers
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then been extended to anyone who refuses to abandon a stance or goal which the speaker regards as unjustifiable or out-of-date—a lost cause.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, 2017 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?– WRXMar 25, 2017 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Googling "unreconstructed liberal" or "Reaganite" or "fan" or "trekkie" or whatever occurs to you that might cling to out-of-date values. Mar 25, 2017 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) ;)– WRXMar 25, 2017 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.
