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I'm not a linguist but I think this bit of jargon leaked into tech from ham radio, which is old enough that "homebrew" (in the sense of building your own radio
by ElevenLathe 2y ago
I'm not a linguist but I think this bit of jargon leaked into tech from ham radio, which is old enough that "homebrew" (in the sense of building your own radio set from components) referred to a still-earlier time when people actually did commonly brew their own beer at home. "homespun" retains a similar meaning in general usage.
- jujube3 2y agoIs beer part of "tech" now? homebrew has a pretty straightforward meaning... beer you brewed at home. It's actually legally defined that way too
- ElevenLathe 2y agoMaybe I've misunderstood pvg upthread but I assumed "'homebrew' has come to connote scrappy and hip" was about IT/tech because it doesn't have that connotation in the actual context of beer, at least to my knowledge.
- pvg 2y agoNo, you had it right - e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_Computer_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrew_Computer_Club which, as you say, is probably a borrowing from older tech nerd communities.
- jujube3 2y agoThe "homebrew computer club" made their own computers. It wasn't about being scrappy or hip, but just a cooler way of saying "homemade"
- ElevenLathe 2y agoSo it's about being cool but not about being hip? What distinction are you trying to make?
- pvg 2y agoYou should probably check out the denotation of 'connotation'
- jujube3 2y agoYou should probably check out "being a pedantic douche" -- oh wait, you already did.