millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

I meant only that "tycoon" has a rather dated sound to me - like "playboy."

The two are clearly not synonymous.

It may be that the media are using both rather less than they did, say,
forty years ago, because both may be considered judgmental.

JL

On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 9:17 PM, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> Subject:      Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Both of those bring with them connotations that are not present with
> "millionaire."
>
> A "tycoon" is a dominant figure in a particular industry.
>
> A "playboy" leads a dissolute lifestyle.
>
> Both are associated with wealth, but wealth in and of itself is not the
> defining characteristic of a tycoon or a playboy.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of
> Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 7:44 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> I think the underlying difficulty is primarily that "persons who make at
> least a million dollars a year" takes too long to write or say.
> "Millionaire" is shorter.  "Tycoon" is shorter still, but its associations
> with great wealth, economic power, and conspicuous consumption may make it
> seem a bit slanted.  It may sound slightly dated as well - like "playboy."
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 7:31 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ---------
> >
> > At 4/17/2012 03:22 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
> > >Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> > >Caveats: NONE
> > >
> > >This document:
> > >
> > >http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/09in05tr.xls
> > >
> > >is only current through 2009, but seems to say that the floor of
> > >income for the top 1% was $343k in that year.
> >
> > So the term we want is "multi-thousandaire".
> >
> > Joel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > >Behalf Of
> > > > Joel S. Berson
> > > > Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 11:25 AM
> > > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > > Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
> > > >
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >----------------------
> > > > -
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > > Subject:      Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
> > > >
> > >---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >---
> > >------
> > > > -
> > > >
> > > > At 4/17/2012 11:16 AM, Baker, John wrote:
> > > > >The one percent refers to the affluent segment of society generally.
> > > >
> > > > We ought to be able to say from the statistics what yearly income
> > > > is the threshold for the 99th percentile.  For the most recent
> > > > year for which the data are available.
> > > >
> > > > Joel
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
> --
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