The English language is in a state of continual evolution. The rise of the internet and social media have placed a new emphasis on the importance of the written word. Gone are the days when it was thought that grammar and spelling were unimportant. The difference between knowing your crap & knowing you’re crap is more relevant than ever.
The rise in popularity of guitars that have been given distressed finishes to make them look old has given rise to a new status for the word “relic”. Nowadays, “relic” is often used as a verb. There is nothing inherently wrong with that of course. But some spelling interpretations of “relic, the verb” can give rise to confusion. Two common examples are “reliced” & “relicked”.
Here at Essex Amp Repairs & Guitar Services, we do try to avoid using “relic” as a verb. We prefer to consider the process as “aging” or “distressing”, giving “relic” as the finished article. However, when there is no alternative but to use the verb form, we will spell it as “relic’d”.
This way we can avoid confusion with items that seem to have been cleaned by tongue, or fitted with new insects.