a New York Times article about a single word

[Doug Harris]

And within that article:
Jesse Sheidlower, the editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary, said
people often use strong words in a way that softens their meaning over time.
" 'Outrageous' falls into that category," Mr. Sheidlower said. "Most of the
things you'd call outrageous don't usually cause rage in the streets. Or
'awesome,' which is very rarely now used to mean worthy of awe."
-------------
Sort of like the Brits have done with 'brilliant', used most often, over
the past couple of decades, about things/situations that are, if anything,
brilliance challenged.
dh

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org