Factory as cuteness preventive

The old Rossie Velvet Mill in Stonington, Conn. 

“The factory is a good prevention against quaintness; it removes from the village a possibly ‘cute’ edge.’’

— Anthony Bailey (1933-2020), in his book In the Village, based on the Englishman and New Yorker writer’s 10 years of living in Stonington, Conn., a generally pretty coastal town.