Fustian:
a thick, rough cotton cloth that lasts for a long time:
- About 1577, a certain type of fustian became popular in the city of Genoa.
- It was no hardship to clothe herself in fustian and feed on oats.
behaviour or writing that is too serious or formal, and in which you try to appear or sound more important or intelligent than you really are:
- The line is worth a hundred pages of fustian.
- Despite the fustian, Mandler’s argument is smart and clear and appears to be sound.
Noted in The Language of Cities, Deyan Sudjic, Ch. 5, The Idea of a City:
Engels look at the physical form of the city, at buildings and streets and landscapes. But, like Dickens and Zola, he was also fascinated with the people in those streets. He noticed what they worse: broadcloth for the wealthy, fustian for the rest; what they ate and drank and smoked. The poor had to put up with adulterated food, often it was all that they could afford.
Any typos mine.
