A small number of syndromes that initially were correlated, more or less convincingly, with relevant lacunes observed at subsequent autopsy have come to be regarded as the classical lacunar syndromes (LACS), pure motor stroke (PMS), pure sensory stroke (PSS), homolateral ataxia and crural paresis (HACP), dysarthria-clumsy hand syndrome (DCHS), ataxic hemiparesis (AH), and sensorimotor stroke (SMS). The original cases of HACP were described as having weakness of the lower limb, particularly the ankle and toes, a Babinski sign, and striking dysmetria of the arm and leg on the same side. The classical LACS are clinical paradigms that should be fine-tuned by clinicians. They have been shown to be simple and reasonably valid markers for a numerically significant and pathophysiologically distinct subgroup of patients with cerebral infarction. Clinical and research utility of the classical LACS will have to be kept under review in the era of hyperacute stroke assessment and treatment.