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shop-worn

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Used or worn from overuse, often implying a lack of freshness or novelty.

Detailed Definition
The term 'shop-worn' describes something that has been used extensively, leading to a sense of dullness or lack of appeal. In the context of the poem, it suggests that the brotherhood of the men has become tired or stale over time, reflecting the weariness of their existence and experiences.
Example
Example in poetry:
...there was a shop-worn brotherhood About them... evoking faded familiarity; contemporary: "Shop-worn ideals of the American Dream in consumer verse"; educational: "Shop-worn as adjective for overused in modernist critique of commerce"; "Shop-worn phrases lose luster yet bind the weary"; "Like shop-worn garments, old friendships endure the trials"; "The shop-worn soul finds beauty in imperfection."
Additional Notes
The phrase 'shop-worn brotherhood' indicates a sense of tiredness and familiarity among the men, emphasizing their long-standing existence.; Found in the poem, The Clerks by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Also Known As
threadbare time-worn faded by use well-trodden cliché
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