lost knack

S

Shahruzraad

Senior Member

Arabic

The text is from a play called The Visiting Hour. What does "A lost knack" mean?

Father: Nobody darns socks any more.
Daughter: Nobody darns anything.
Father: , the needle and thread – the darning mushroom –

👁 Keith Bradford

Keith Bradford

Senior Member

Brittany, NW France

English (Midlands UK)

A skill which is not known to (young) people nowadays.

👁 velisarius

velisarius

Senior Member

Greece

British English (Sussex)

Darning is a teachable skill, whereas a "knack" is acquired, usually through patient trial and error.

I wouldn't have used "knack", myself, because anybody can learn to darn. There's no special knack to it.

👁 The Newt

The Newt

Senior Member

New England

English - US

"A lost art" probably would have made more sense.

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