Heard on South Park: _prevalent_ > "widely-known"

[ronbutters at AOL.COM]

They also used "phenomena" in the singular. This struck me as far more egregious, though of course we have discussed that here before. I doubt that I would even have noticed the use of "prevalent" in the sense of 'currently prominent', which is semantically quite close to the dictionary sense.
------Original Message------
From: Laurence Horn
Sender: ADS-L
To: ADS-L
ReplyTo: ADS-L
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Heard on South Park: _prevalent_ > "widely-known"
Sent: Mar 18, 2010 9:45 PM

>"Many rich and famous married men feel that they have the right to sex with
>women other than their wives. Tiger Woods is merely the most _prevalent_."
>
>-Wilson

For "prominent" I assume?

LH

>---
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"--a strange complaint to come
>from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-Mark Twain
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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


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