Expressions worth speaking about: spoken for and bespoke

Today I’m writing about two interesting expressions derived from the verb to speak that you may not have encountered before.

First, the adjective spoken for means

already claimed or being kept for somebody

according to the OLD. In particular, spoken for is an old-fashioned synonym for married. Fortunately, the times when married women were literally spoken for by their husbands are long gone in most parts of our world. For other meanings and examples see here.

Second, bespoke is a synonym for tailor-made or custom-made. It characterizes a product or service designed with the specific needs or wishes of the customer in mind. A good example is a bespoke suit, which is a suit made to fit a particular person by a bespoke tailor. The expression most certainly derives from the fact that the two parties speak about the product requirements beforehand. Further examples can be found here. For the differences between bespoke and made-to-measure, see here.