Spot the Frippet: something fake.

 Is fake the word of the 2020s?

Well, I hope not, because I'm not even sure what fake means any more. If you have a comb that looks like tortoiseshell, for instance, then you'd probably rather it was fake rather than made of a real tortoise. In this case, fake is a good thing.

It's the same with leopard skin and all kinds of fur. (There was a report last year about some fake fur coats that turned out to be genuine fur because apparently they were cheaper to make. Mind you, the genuine fur would have been bio-degradable, which leaves us in a real ecological muddle.)

And how about fake house plants? Are they pretending to be real? Even when they're kept in a windowless bathroom?

And fake eyelashes?

Diana Dors. Photo by Anefo

And is there any news that isn't fake from someone's point of view?

Fake started off meaning intended to deceive and then changed its meaning to similar in form and function but not intended to deceive; and at the moment seems to mean something which I personally don't wish to be true. 

Well...

...this is going to be an easy spot, isn't it?

Spot the Frippet: something fake. This word started off in the 1700s as thieves' slang meaning to mug or cheat someone. It probably came through Polari from the Italian facciare, to make or do.