BRITNEY RADIOACTIVE!!

[Jonathan Lighter]

According to the Fox News Channel, photos of Britney Spears commando have led to concerns that she may now be "radioactive for future endorsements."

  OED has a number of "fig." radioactives from 1905 on, but they need to be analyzed further.

  Before Hiroshima, being radioactive was a good thing. Some exx. mean something like "scintillating": "London is radio-active, hence enjoyable" (1905); "radio-active Audrey" (1934).  Others are metaphysically metaphorical: "Our plasmic psyche is radio-active, connecting with all things" (1919).

  A "radio-active personality that had shattering effects" doesn't appear till 1974.

  If Brit is really "radioactive," she's "too hot to handle," repellently unsuitable to endorse things.  Very bad for the economy.

  Fox is following the story.

  JL


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