star in

[Dennis R. Preston]

I see this all the time; the implication is "played by."

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Damien Hall <halldj at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
>Subject:      star in
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Spotted in today's (31 October 2007) *Metro*, Philadelphia edition, as the
>caption  to the picture in the 'TV tonight' section (p20):
>
>'Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) and Mac (Gary Sinise) star in "CSI: NY."'
>
>For me, the subject arguments and their adjuncts are the wrong way around in
>this sentence.  In my dialect, I would have to say 'MK (Stella) and GS (Mac)
>star in ...', because it's the actors who are doing the starring, not the
>characters;  the sentence as quoted implies that it is the
>characters doing the
>starring.
>
>Neither *OED* nor *MW* lists this permutation of arguments for *star
>in*.  Does
>it strike others as unusual?  Has anyone heard it before, in which case it
>might be an incoming variant?
>
>Damien Hall
>University of Pennsylvania
>
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--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself [sic] in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755

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