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Originally Posted by Uncle Robin
Another dealbreaker moment for me. In an historical romance set in Victorian England, this passage:
(e.a.)
In my experience, "homely" as a synonym of "ugly" is distinctively US, and it seems that at least one reputable Dictionary agrees
Oxford Dictionary of English :
homely /ˈhəʊmli /
▸ adjective
(homelier, homeliest)
2 North American (of a person) unattractive in appearance.
The reality is that if the author's character had been called "hopmely", they would have been cofused, not insulted. Yet another example of a US author making zero effort to have her characters speak their own language, not that of the author.  |
Minor nit is that the Oxford dictionary does not say that homely is distinctly US. Try to remember that there is a rather large country to the north of the 48 contiguous states whose inhabitants also consider themselves as North American and another rather large country to the south though homely may not be popular there though perhaps acogedora fills the niche. I will admit that reading "hopmely" did cause me to
and then
.
From another source:
Quote:
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(Canada, US) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive
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