mythical

Benjamin Barrett gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM
Thu Jan 19 22:16:51 UTC 2012


And it was of _________ proportions....

On Jan 19, 2012, at 2:06 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Epic is the word I was looking for but got a brain fart.
>
>     VS-)
>
> On 1/19/2012 2:48 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> It sounds like "epic" or "classic" would work.
>>
>> Benjamin Barrett
>> Seattle, WA
>>
>> On Jan 19, 2012, at 11:08 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>>
>>> Rick Perry is finally quitting his presidential campaign today. The news
>>> has prompted comments such as this one (actually, these comments have
>>> been popping up for the past two months, and not just about Perry).
>>>
>>>> He had a downright mythical flameout. I seriously look forward to the
>>>> books from former campaign staff.
>>> "Mythical" seems to be the wrong word here. But I've seen this usage before.
>>>
>>> The closest OED comes to it is #4.
>>>
>>>> 4. That has acquired an idealized or exaggerated reputation on the
>>>> basis of popular rumour. Cf. mythic adj. 2.
>>> Except that it's really not the same--it's more of an opposite. It was
>>> the stuff of legends. Which is why we sometimes call it "legendary". Or
>>> is "legendary" reserved for positive accomplishments? Is there a better
>>> substitute here?
>>>
>>>     VS--)
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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