What does “ Victorian orphans” mean in the sentence?











up vote
1
down vote

favorite












Why did the man in following sentence refer his hair style as "Victorian orphans"? what does Victorian orphan look like? Is there any cultural gap I am missing, or is it a slang or something?



‘My hair. I’m only half done. I look like one of those Victorian orphans. "










share|improve this question







New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.




















  • If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
    – Ronald Sole
    19 hours ago















up vote
1
down vote

favorite












Why did the man in following sentence refer his hair style as "Victorian orphans"? what does Victorian orphan look like? Is there any cultural gap I am missing, or is it a slang or something?



‘My hair. I’m only half done. I look like one of those Victorian orphans. "










share|improve this question







New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.




















  • If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
    – Ronald Sole
    19 hours ago













up vote
1
down vote

favorite









up vote
1
down vote

favorite











Why did the man in following sentence refer his hair style as "Victorian orphans"? what does Victorian orphan look like? Is there any cultural gap I am missing, or is it a slang or something?



‘My hair. I’m only half done. I look like one of those Victorian orphans. "










share|improve this question







New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











Why did the man in following sentence refer his hair style as "Victorian orphans"? what does Victorian orphan look like? Is there any cultural gap I am missing, or is it a slang or something?



‘My hair. I’m only half done. I look like one of those Victorian orphans. "







meaning-in-context word-choice culture






share|improve this question







New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question







New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question






New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 20 hours ago









user86301

122




122




New contributor




user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






user86301 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












  • If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
    – Ronald Sole
    19 hours ago


















  • If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
    – Ronald Sole
    19 hours ago
















If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
– Ronald Sole
19 hours ago




If you google Victorian orphans you will find numerous sites on that subject.
– Ronald Sole
19 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
4
down vote



accepted










"Victorian orphans" refers to the Victorian era, meaning later 19th century England. This era has many cultural associations, one of which is that the streets were littered with orphans or street urchins.



I do not think they have a distinctive hairstyle, but they would have been stereotypically disheveled and unclean, and their hair would not have been professionally styled.



I would say this sort of image would be a typical example of what someone thinks of when they hear "Victorian orphan" (from here):



Three street urchins






share|improve this answer






























    up vote
    1
    down vote













    This is really a question about British cultural history rather than learning English as a language, but my first thought on reading it was that this somewhat crude stereotype only really survives through the portrayal of orphans in the works of Charles Dickens (the eponymously-titled Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations, etc.).



    So if OP's cited speaker had been a bit more on the ball, she might have been more likely to use the same term as the majority of her more "literate / literary" compatriots...




    [Some dishevelled person looks...]
    ...like a Victorian orphan
    (About 81 results in Google Books)
    ...like a Dickensian orphan (About 109 results)






    For a more "internationalist" cultural reference, there are the orphans Jean Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Marius, etc. in Les Misérables (1862) by French writer Victor Hugo. Personally, I'm not literate enough to know the adjectival derivative of "Hugo", but here's a well-known picture from the relevant Wikipedia page - titled Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables...



    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer





















      Your Answer








      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "481"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });






      user86301 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f188120%2fwhat-does-victorian-orphans-mean-in-the-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes








      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes








      up vote
      4
      down vote



      accepted










      "Victorian orphans" refers to the Victorian era, meaning later 19th century England. This era has many cultural associations, one of which is that the streets were littered with orphans or street urchins.



      I do not think they have a distinctive hairstyle, but they would have been stereotypically disheveled and unclean, and their hair would not have been professionally styled.



      I would say this sort of image would be a typical example of what someone thinks of when they hear "Victorian orphan" (from here):



      Three street urchins






      share|improve this answer



























        up vote
        4
        down vote



        accepted










        "Victorian orphans" refers to the Victorian era, meaning later 19th century England. This era has many cultural associations, one of which is that the streets were littered with orphans or street urchins.



        I do not think they have a distinctive hairstyle, but they would have been stereotypically disheveled and unclean, and their hair would not have been professionally styled.



        I would say this sort of image would be a typical example of what someone thinks of when they hear "Victorian orphan" (from here):



        Three street urchins






        share|improve this answer

























          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          4
          down vote



          accepted






          "Victorian orphans" refers to the Victorian era, meaning later 19th century England. This era has many cultural associations, one of which is that the streets were littered with orphans or street urchins.



          I do not think they have a distinctive hairstyle, but they would have been stereotypically disheveled and unclean, and their hair would not have been professionally styled.



          I would say this sort of image would be a typical example of what someone thinks of when they hear "Victorian orphan" (from here):



          Three street urchins






          share|improve this answer














          "Victorian orphans" refers to the Victorian era, meaning later 19th century England. This era has many cultural associations, one of which is that the streets were littered with orphans or street urchins.



          I do not think they have a distinctive hairstyle, but they would have been stereotypically disheveled and unclean, and their hair would not have been professionally styled.



          I would say this sort of image would be a typical example of what someone thinks of when they hear "Victorian orphan" (from here):



          Three street urchins







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 19 hours ago









          ColleenV

          10.4k53159




          10.4k53159










          answered 20 hours ago









          Paul

          29818




          29818
























              up vote
              1
              down vote













              This is really a question about British cultural history rather than learning English as a language, but my first thought on reading it was that this somewhat crude stereotype only really survives through the portrayal of orphans in the works of Charles Dickens (the eponymously-titled Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations, etc.).



              So if OP's cited speaker had been a bit more on the ball, she might have been more likely to use the same term as the majority of her more "literate / literary" compatriots...




              [Some dishevelled person looks...]
              ...like a Victorian orphan
              (About 81 results in Google Books)
              ...like a Dickensian orphan (About 109 results)






              For a more "internationalist" cultural reference, there are the orphans Jean Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Marius, etc. in Les Misérables (1862) by French writer Victor Hugo. Personally, I'm not literate enough to know the adjectival derivative of "Hugo", but here's a well-known picture from the relevant Wikipedia page - titled Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables...



              enter image description here






              share|improve this answer

























                up vote
                1
                down vote













                This is really a question about British cultural history rather than learning English as a language, but my first thought on reading it was that this somewhat crude stereotype only really survives through the portrayal of orphans in the works of Charles Dickens (the eponymously-titled Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations, etc.).



                So if OP's cited speaker had been a bit more on the ball, she might have been more likely to use the same term as the majority of her more "literate / literary" compatriots...




                [Some dishevelled person looks...]
                ...like a Victorian orphan
                (About 81 results in Google Books)
                ...like a Dickensian orphan (About 109 results)






                For a more "internationalist" cultural reference, there are the orphans Jean Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Marius, etc. in Les Misérables (1862) by French writer Victor Hugo. Personally, I'm not literate enough to know the adjectival derivative of "Hugo", but here's a well-known picture from the relevant Wikipedia page - titled Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables...



                enter image description here






                share|improve this answer























                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote









                  This is really a question about British cultural history rather than learning English as a language, but my first thought on reading it was that this somewhat crude stereotype only really survives through the portrayal of orphans in the works of Charles Dickens (the eponymously-titled Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations, etc.).



                  So if OP's cited speaker had been a bit more on the ball, she might have been more likely to use the same term as the majority of her more "literate / literary" compatriots...




                  [Some dishevelled person looks...]
                  ...like a Victorian orphan
                  (About 81 results in Google Books)
                  ...like a Dickensian orphan (About 109 results)






                  For a more "internationalist" cultural reference, there are the orphans Jean Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Marius, etc. in Les Misérables (1862) by French writer Victor Hugo. Personally, I'm not literate enough to know the adjectival derivative of "Hugo", but here's a well-known picture from the relevant Wikipedia page - titled Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables...



                  enter image description here






                  share|improve this answer












                  This is really a question about British cultural history rather than learning English as a language, but my first thought on reading it was that this somewhat crude stereotype only really survives through the portrayal of orphans in the works of Charles Dickens (the eponymously-titled Oliver Twist, Pip in Great Expectations, etc.).



                  So if OP's cited speaker had been a bit more on the ball, she might have been more likely to use the same term as the majority of her more "literate / literary" compatriots...




                  [Some dishevelled person looks...]
                  ...like a Victorian orphan
                  (About 81 results in Google Books)
                  ...like a Dickensian orphan (About 109 results)






                  For a more "internationalist" cultural reference, there are the orphans Jean Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Marius, etc. in Les Misérables (1862) by French writer Victor Hugo. Personally, I'm not literate enough to know the adjectival derivative of "Hugo", but here's a well-known picture from the relevant Wikipedia page - titled Portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables...



                  enter image description here







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 19 hours ago









                  FumbleFingers

                  43.4k153117




                  43.4k153117






















                      user86301 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










                      draft saved

                      draft discarded


















                      user86301 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                      user86301 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                      user86301 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















                      Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                      Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                      Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f188120%2fwhat-does-victorian-orphans-mean-in-the-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Quarter-circle Tiles

                      build a pushdown automaton that recognizes the reverse language of a given pushdown automaton?

                      Mont Emei