fame-iness

[Benjamin Zimmer]

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http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-daum17feb17,0,1512234.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary
LA Times, February 17, 2007
Fame-iness
Since earning celebrity status means provoking our disgust, perhaps
it's time for a new category of fame.
Meghan Daum
[...]
Merriam Webster's 2006 word of the year was Stephen Colbert's coinage
of "truthiness," which describes our inclination to believe in ideas
without regard to logic or evidence. Perhaps our definition of
celebrity has taken a similar path. Now that the mystique of so many
celebrities is rooted less in their accomplishments than in their
ability to get our attention by provoking our disgust, perhaps it's
not fame they're offering but "fame-iness."
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-- Ben Zimmer

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