Meaning of Swiftian | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist, or his works.
2. Of or pertaining to Taylor Swift (1989–), American singer-songwriter, or her musical and lyrical style.

Examples

“Swiftian satire”

“Nor are his ironic-human touches wanting. Almost at its birth he satirises, in his own⟳ quiet Swiftian way, an absurd tendency which has grown mightily since, and flourishes now: […]”

“It was my intent to mix⟳ serious issues and facts with irony and Swiftian satire to engage⟳ readers and make⟳ my points. No apologies on that count⟳.”

“Swiftian chorus”

“You could hear⟳ Martin and Shellback's touch⟳ in the bright, punchy sound⟳ of those songs, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble⟳,” and “22.” Yet the songs are unmistakably Swiftian; […].”

“Katie is herself deeply invested in the kind of heteronormative propriety that other fans see⟳ in Taylor Swift's music, and she […] suggests that she can incorporate Swift's image of sweet wholesomeness into her own⟳ experience⟳ and articulation of lesbian relationships; yet, Katie desires to appropriate a piece of heteronormative culture—“Swiftian” propriety and sentimentality—without considering the ways that this strict view⟳ on the expression of sexual desire is connected to the ways that she is marginalized within the community because of her sexual identity.”

“The music itself is classic Taylor Swift, with a high degree of syncopation at the sixteenth-note level and a chorus melody […] Despite the fact that the song is jointly credited to Swift and Sheeran, the verses, too, contain⟳ some typically Swiftian attributes, including unexpected lengthening and truncations of phrases.”

“Still, at the movies, surrounded by a matinee crowd of older Swifties and their kids, the Swiftian portal exerted its pull⟳.”

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