"notorious" goes neutral

[Charles C Doyle]

It's my impression that neutral "notoriety" is even more common.

--Charlie

________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 6:46 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU


Today we went to a local production of _The Fantasticks_. The Chairman of
the Board of the theater group (in her late '30s, I'd guess) introduced
the performance by saying that it was based on a little-known play by the
"famous and notorious Edmond Rostand."

Rostand's "most notorious play was _Cyrano de Bergerac_."

No, there was not a hint of irony or playfulness in either her intonation or
her body lingo.

Note too, as a curiosity, that she described herself as "Chairman" rather
than "Chairperson."

"Notorious" thus = 'noted; celebrated.'

JL

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