radical chic

[rad-i-kuhl sheek]

noun

1. the patronage of extremists or left-wing radicals by rich or famous people, as through invitations to social functions or public expressions of support.

Other Word Forms

• radical-chic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of radical chic¹

Coined in 1970 by Tom Wolfe (1931–2018), American journalist, in an essay “Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's”

Example Sentences

It would be tempting to conclude that Hollywood should heed postelection autopsies inveighing against “magic words,” “radical chic” and “going woke.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In Hollywood these days, radical chic is back in fashion.

Read more on New York Times

It is sung by a white Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist, and lampoons the liberal fascination with what Tom Wolfe called radical chic.

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But he warned that attitudes among the global population - including those he has in the past called "radical chic environmentalists" - would have to change.

Read more on BBC

There was a feeling that she was frozen in time; that she belonged to a 60s brand of so-called radical chic and that her ideas were outmoded.

Read more on The Guardian