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Culturally solvent

Posted by Lewis on March 14, 2003

In Reply to: Culturally solvent posted by R. Berg on March 14, 2003

: : : : To keep you culturally solvent, Smart has rounded up a cornucopia of the best oddity-possessing museums in the world which can be visited both in person and online.

: : : : To keep you culturally solvent,does it mean that to help you to view these 'cultural' things without costing you too much?

: : : I've never heard the expression, but I am 99 percent sure it doesn't have to do with money. I am guessing that it means culturally knowledgeable. That you know what you need to know to function in a society.

: : This from the American Heritage Dictionary:

: : SOLVENT

: : ADJECTIVE:
: : 1. Capable of meeting financial obligations.
: : 2. Chemistry Capable of dissolving another substance.
: : NOUN:
: : 1. Chemistry a. A substance in which another substance is dissolved, forming a solution.
: : b. A substance, usually a liquid, capable of dissolving another substance.
: : 2. Something that solves or explains.

: : None of which is much help. However, I've noticed solvent being used more and more often recently to mean knowledgeable, just as ESC says - I suppose it still means "being capable of fulfilling a demand", except for information, not payment.

: The phrase "morally bankrupt" has been around for a long time, so why not "culturally solvent"--having resources in the area of culture?

it's simply somebody being clever and making up an opposite of "culturally bankrupt" [as in "morally bankrupt"]. Once you start, you can get a wave of variations. It means to make sure that you have something "cultural" available.

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