Code-X (42)

By: Joshua Glenn
November 14, 2014

Call this UK/Australian/US hard cider category code: Bittersweet.

Definition: In an effort to appeal to men — many of whom think of cider as a sweet, feminine beverage — many cider brands have emphasized their sweet/bitter balance.

Notes on this code: Bittersweet very easily becomes a metaphor for one’s stoic attitude to life. Who wants life to be sweet all the time, anyway?

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See All Posts by Joshua Glenn

Josh Glenn, HILOBROW's editor, is a principal of the commercial semiotics agency Semiovox. He is co-author and/or co-editor of several books, including The Idler's Glossary, Significant Objects, and the bestselling family activities guide UNBORED. In the ’00s, Josh was a columnist and blogger for the Boston Globe's IDEAS section; in the ’90s, he published the zine/journal Hermenaut. He lives in Boston.